My songs get tens of thousands of likes but each Spotify stream earns me just £0.003

Many young artists are finding no trouble in getting thousands of likes and shares for their music on social media platforms.

But the battle is getting those who watch a 10-second viral clip on Instagram or TikTok to listen to the full song on platforms such as Spotify.

Singer Megan Wyn has more than 12,600 followers on her social media accounts, but this translates to just 540 monthly listeners on Spotify.

While she admits social media is crucial for young people discovering her music, Spotify is where they can find her full songs - but getting people there is proving increasingly difficult.

Another singer Dylan Carmichael, has 57,000 social media followers, but just one song on Spotify - however, he says "TikTok fans" have helped create a loyal following who attend his gigs.

"It's frustrating sometimes, but you can't really avoid it," Megan said.

"You can only hope that people who know 10 seconds of a song will eventually become full listeners."

With 713 million active users worldwide, Spotify is where musicians can reach massive audiences.

Last month, 80s classic Total Eclipse of the Heart passed the billion stream mark on Spotify.

While singer Bonnie Tyler said she has made "about nothing" from it, a spokesperson said the platform has paid out more than $1.4 million (£1.02m) for streams of Tyler's catalogue in 2025.

How musicians are paid is complex, as the platform states: "Spotify does not pay artist royalties according to a per-play or per-stream rate; the royalty payments that artists receive might vary according to differences in how their music is streamed or the agreements they have with labels or distributors."

Megan, 21, from Anglesey, estimates she earns roughly £0.003 per stream.

Despite this, she said: "Spotify is crucial. You reach an insane amount of people that you would never be able to reach otherwise."

Artists get exposure in many other ways - such as when Canadian superstar Alanis Morissette chose Megan to support her at her Cardiff gig in front of 35,000 people last summer.

But it is hard to predict what will grab people's attention and get hundreds of likes and shares on social media, Megan said

"There isn't really a formula to it," she added.

"You can post the same kind of content all the time and one video will do really well, and another won't. It's kind of pot luck."

Rather than polished promotional posts, it is behind the scenes videos such as gig clips and day-in-the-life content that have done well for her.

"People engage more because it's something they don't see very often," she said.

"From those videos I've had more followers and more listeners on Spotify, because people feel more invested."

Like many artists, Megan has seen her music added to Spotify curated playlists, including Fresh Finds UK and Proper Belters.

While these can boost exposure, she believes the impact has changed, because there are now so many playlists.

Her advice to young artists is not to chase virality on social media at the expense of authenticity.

"Once you start caring too much about what performs well, it can take away from the music," Megan added.

"People can tell what's authentic."

The rise of short form content on social media has also changed how many people engage with music, with some artists reporting fans only recognised the viral section of a song.

Izzy, 19, from Cornwall, takes inspiration for music from TikTok, and when she listens to these songs on Spotify, it gives her other recommendations.

"I would like to think I'm a loyal listener, but it probably is not the reality," she said.

"The artists I'm passionate about, I know all of their songs.

"But a lot of the songs I found on TikTok, I don't know the whole song, it is just a snippet."

Bethan, 17, from Cardiff, found three of her favourite artists through TikTok.

"If I find a song I like, I immediately find it on Spotify," she added.

"If its not out yet, I pre-save it."

Emily, from Cornwall, said "I am a bit of a TikTok warrior for music.

"I love the snippets and I will search the song out, but it's generally indie or indie rock."

Oli added: "I do try and find stuff on TikTok, but then you end up finding the whole song and often its rubbish.

"There's a reason why the 10 second clip does well."

Dylan Carmichael began posting song covers on TikTok and Instagram three years ago after teaching himself to play guitar during the Covid-19 lockdown.

The 23-year-old from Carmarthenshire gradually built an audience through daily uploads and live streaming performances.

He now has roughly 57,000 followers across his social media platforms, but only one original song available on Spotify.

Covers tend to attract far more engagement than original material, be believes.

"People stick around longer for what they know rather than what they don't," Dylan added.

However, live streaming then becomes a way of introducing listeners to his own music.

"When I'm live people are listening to songs they know and then I'll slip in an original song," he said.

"That's when people say 'oh I like this'."

Despite wider concerns about so-called "TikTok fans" only knowing short sections of songs, Dylan said his experiences during live performances had been more positive.

He performs regularly across Wales, often securing bookings through social media.

"When I've played gigs I found that the people who come actually know all the words," he said.

"But I think that's because I'm a smaller creator, there are the people who come to my gigs are the ones who really do listen."