According to iGroove’s recent study (original German version here, English interpretation here), a musician or band can expect to get paid 0.3¢ to 0.5¢ per Spotify stream, which means that they’d need somewhere between 200 to 333 streams of one of their songs to make a single dollar. Music may be what musicians make, but unless you’ve made it big, it doesn’t pay the bills.
Want to really support your favorite act, especially if they’re small? Go to their shows, see the live, and buy their merchandise. When you see artists live, you not only get a one-of-a-kind experience, but you also support them in the most effective way possible. Most of the money from tickets and merch goes directly to the artists, rather than the “middlemen” — the record labels, distributors, or streaming services.