Proving once again that being independent in music pays well, Russ flaunted his latest six-figure paycheck on social media, earning it in just a week.
On Friday (October 13), the Atlanta-via-New Jersey artist took to Twitter to educate fans on how he makes money from his masters, as he is an independent artist.
In one screenshot, his current music royalties are $152,629.40, while in another screenshot his catalog earns $79,637.81.
“To inspire,” Russ began. “This is the money I made this week just mastering the independent catalog. Obviously it fluctuates from week to week, but this is just to give you some insight. I don't have to appear on radio, I don't have to sign autographs. , you don't even have to have the biggest album in this word. You just have to have a lot of good music and own it (lol).”
He continued: “I use two different distributions: Vidya and Tunecore. My deal with them is the same. I keep 100% and pay a one-time fee per year for unlimited uploads. We pay. We want artists to see the value of having a catalog instead of feeling like they have to make all the money they dream of with one song.”
Check out Russ' amazing payday below.
For inspirational purposes. This is the money I made this week just mastering independent catalogs. Obviously it varies from week to week, but this is just to give you some insight. You don't have to be on the radio, you don't have to sign autographs, you don't have to have the biggest album in this word. pic.twitter.com/2PPewLNoNs
— Santiago (@russdemon) October 13, 2023
Russ has never been shy about giving fans a glimpse into both his income and worth as an artist and his continued streaming success throughout his career.
In July, he gave an interview to Spotify in which he revealed his monthly listenership numbers and exclaimed about his “super listeners,” who make up nearly 10 percent of his fanbase (a much higher percentage than most other artists).
“After speaking with Spotify, we were finally able to debunk the true meaning of monthly listeners,” he wrote on Twitter at the time. “Shout out to all my “super listeners.” On average, Super His listeners account for 2% of an artist's monthly listeners. You all make up 9% of me. ”
He went on to say in another tweet that Spotify has 14 million monthly listeners, but only 10 million are actively listening to his music. The rest of his 4 million are just passive listeners who stumbled upon his songs on playlists or on his Spotify radio.
Russ proves to young artists that owning a master pays
“Of our 14 million monthly listeners, 10 million are active viewers,” he wrote. “That's people who go out of their way to listen to my music. The rest are people who listen to it on playlists, Spotify radio, etc. They weren't actively trying to listen to it. That's why the numbers are a sham.'' I wonder how many active viewers other artists with crazy playlists and such actually have? ”
Back in 2022, Russ also rapped about how he turned down a $50 million offer for his catalog on the Boi-1da produced track “Too Much.”
“$50 million for catalog purchases, I say no (fact) / I make money every second, I should learn how to do it.” He spits on the truck.
