What Are The Numbers That T-Pain Posted On Twitter? Rapper Says Its The Number of Streams Needed To Make A Dollar

As of 2021, streaming has emerged as a critical component of rappers' ability to generate revenue from their songs.

On the other hand, T-Pain published a list that he claims reveals that streaming may not be as profitable for other musicians.

Rapper T-Pain took to Twitter to share a list of how many streams does it takes for an artist to generate a dollar.

Following the release of the alleged list, the rapper-singer claimed that Napster's one-dollar compensation begins after 53 streams, whereas YouTube's one-dollar payout begins after 1,250 streams. Primary streaming services such as Amazon Music and Spotify pay artists a buck after 249 and 315 streams, respectively, on their respective platforms. The response to T-Pain's post has been a mixed bag. As a protest, some have urged that musicians withdraw their tracks from streaming sites, while others believe that streaming is primarily beneficial to well-known artists in the music industry. The next day, the T-Pain detailed his motivations for disclosing the streaming list to the general public.

The 37-year old musician hoped that sharing his story might inspire other artists to consider developing a streaming service that benefits them rather than simply accepting the existing quo.

Netizens react to the Streaming List

T-Pain's post went viral instantly, garnering over 100,000 likes and 24,000 retweets in only a few hours. Many have supported T-Pain for bringing attention to the economic discrepancies that exists within the streaming platforms. However, some highlighted that the statistics did not seem to be an issue for famous artists such as T-Pain, Taylor Swift, who have a large following.

One user even took the time to try and look at Drake's 2021 hit "Wants and Needs".

The user pointed out that the model is only "archaic" for some artists. The figures that these artists earn from one song per streaming platform alone differ from what they get from endorsements, brand deals, and the actual label deal.

One even echoed T=Pains sentiment, saying that its "crazy" that the artist who made the music does not take home the dollar, as it has to be split up with others involved.