A catalogue of tracks is not a revenue forecast. To build a streaming business, start with the streams, receipts and costs of your catalogue. The Demorphus calculator estimates streaming earnings; track costs separately.

Start with streams, not files

Streaming depends on an audience listening to your tracks. Start with the number of released tracks and average monthly streams per track. Generating more songs does not automatically create an audience. The Demorphus calculator focuses on streaming receipts before expenses and tax.

Why there is no promised per-stream rate

Spotify states that it does not pay a fixed rate per stream. Our calculator therefore uses a fixed assumption of $3 per 1,000 eligible streams, not an official tariff. How royalties work ↗

Recording royalty eligibility includes a threshold of 1,000 streams in the preceding twelve months and a unique-listener requirement. The calculator’s eligible share is your assumption, not validation of individual tracks. Spotify eligibility ↗

Margin matters more than gross receipts

List creation subscriptions, distribution, promotion and other monthly costs. Add commissions and your initial investment. Include working time too: a small amount of revenue can take hours of preparation.

An illustrative example with costs tracked separately has 20 tracks at 1,000 monthly streams, an assumed $3 per 1,000 streams and a 90% retained share: $54 from streaming. After $59 of costs, monthly cash margin is −$5 before tax and working time. Approximately 21,852 monthly streams are needed to cover those costs under the same assumptions. These are illustrative assumptions, not observed results.

Check the rights to your tracks

Check the plan, generator terms and rights needed for the intended use. Suno explains that commercial use rights do not guarantee copyright protection. Suno’s explanation ↗

Replace assumptions with your own data

Start with a limited catalogue and track streams, receipts actually paid and expenses. Record the time spent on each release too. Gradually replace the calculator’s illustrative inputs with your data, then compare scenarios before expanding the catalogue.

From a Suno export to streaming income

For a first release, use how to monetize Suno songs to connect rights, audio preparation and distribution. The Spotify payment workflow explains where the distributor enters the process.

Keep discovery assumptions separate from the calculator’s arithmetic. Read the AI detection and visibility guide before treating publication, a detector verdict and revenue as the same result.

Prepared with AI assistance. Sources below.