Music is a gift that we gave to ourselves. It is safe to assume every person likes at least some type of music. Happiness, sadness, excitement; there is a song out there for every emotion. It has continuously evolved and we have been introduced to new genres, new instruments, and new technologies of music. What has also changed is how the public gets access to it. From records to CDs to now we have arrived at the age of digital music. More people use digital gadgets for listening to music online today. There are many platforms where you can stream music anytime and anywhere on any device. One such platform is Spotify.

Spotify was founded in 2006. With nearly 300 million monthly listeners, it is one of the biggest music streaming services today. It is being used for more than just listening to songs. There are different ways you can earn some extra cash with the help of Spotify. Here are five of those ways.

1. Streaming Royalties

The most straightforward way to earn money through Spotify is by uploading your own music. You get paid based on how many times your songs get streamed online. The kick off process is not that straightforward, however.

First of all, you need to have a verified profile on Spotify to be able to earn anything. Secondly, Spotify doesn't pay artists for their songs directly. If you want to get paid for your songs, you need to sign a deal with a distributor or a label. They handle your music rights and license which is necessary for getting paid. In return, they ask for a fee or a portion of your royalties. Spotify pays these services and they then pay you...

Some of the best companies that provide this service include CD Baby, DistroKid, Emu Bands, and Record Union. They all differ in terms of royalty rates and what they ask for in return. The earnings are based on the number of plays they have on their songs. So some of the artists prefer to buy Spotify plays from legit sites selling these plays and earning more money than expected.

2. Earn As A Distributor or A Label

Instead of signing up with a distributor, you can become a distributor yourself. Or if you already are a distributor, you can join as a distributor only.

Spotify has recently expanded its boundaries from artists and listeners to labels and distributors. The only thing you need is a verified distributor or label profile just like in the case of an artist. You can then upload music of your existing signed artists so that they can get paid by Spotify.

In return, you can ask for a decided fee or a part in the royalties they get for their music.

3. Reviews and Playlists

Spotify playlists can make you money and a lot of people have no idea about it. But for that, you first need to curate a good playlist and build up a good fan-following. How it works is that you get paid by an artist for including their songs on your playlist. That does not work unless you have a good number of regular listeners as otherwise there is no benefit for the artists who would pay you. The process is ethical as first you first review these songs that you receive.

The time and effort required in reviewing is half of the reason you get paid for. Other than an active profile, you also need a service that would monetise your playlist. PlaylistPush is one of the best programs for this purpose where different labels and artists can connect with reviewers.

4. Playlist Curator

There is another way of earning money through a playlist. Here, you do not have to create a playlist for the audience through your own profile. Instead, you can work at the position of playlist curator and create playlists for others.

Brands, labels, and big artists have big teams that handle different tasks. Creating a playlist is one of them. If you are capable of managing a quality playlist, you can get hired by a brand or a label to create and manage playlists of their different artists. Big artists who don't have time to create their own playlists hire curators for this purpose too and they even purchase Spotify plays for their playlists.

In the music industry, the fame of an artist is very important and big labels and companies collaborate with artists just because of their fame and audience reach.

5. Spotify Blogging

Last but not the least, you can also earn money through Spotify blogs. These blogs can include anything related to Spotify. You can write about weekly trending songs and albums or post updates on newly-uploaded ones. You can also review albums and songs of any specific genre or artist.

Music is always trending and there can never be a shortage of songs and people who want to know about them. Considering the large number of Spotify users there are, blogging about it is a good option for some extra income.

Spotify hasn't been modified to help artists or users earn big amount of money yet. It would not be ideal to expect to become a millionaire through Spotify unless you are a globally famous artist or label. That does not mean you can't take up the opportunities of making decent earnings to make daily life easier. That can be done with the help of the five ways mentioned here.