Robert Kondrk, the Apple executive who negotiates music deals along with media boss Eddy Cue, says that, in the U.S., Apple will pay music owners 71.5% of Apple Music’s subscription revenue. The average among other streaming services is around 70%.
Outside the U.S., the number will fluctuate, but will average around 73%, he told Re/code (http://on.recode.net/1Bi1T0O). The article says these totals include payments to the people who own the sound recordings Apple Music will play, as well as the people who own the publishing rights to songs’ underlying compositions.
That doesn’t mean the money will necessarily go to the musicians who recorded or wrote the songs, since their payouts are governed by often-byzantine contracts with music labels and publishers, notes Re/code. Also, these payments aren’t in effect for the three-month free trial period Apple offers. In fact, during that time period, there are no payments to anyone.
Apple Music launches June 30 for iOS and Mac OS X devices. Android is next, and Apple anticipates attracting 100 million paying subscribers.
