Spotify CEO says artists will make a decent living off streaming in “the next few years”

As of now, most artists aren’t making that much money off Spotify. But as the service grows in subscribers, more ad revenue will come in, and royalties for artists will rise. At least, that’s the theory.

In a relatively recent interview with CNN Money (unearthed by Digital Music News), Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said that artists will make a decent living off the streaming service in just a few years.

“What’s going to happen is the more people that come online, the more people that are listening, it just means that the base of people is going to expand,” Ek says. “And as that happens, even more revenue will come back to the music industry.  So I’m positive that the entire music industry is going to be a lot bigger, and a lot more healthier than its ever been.”

He goes onto say the music industry is just in its infancy when it comes to streaming and if Spotify reaches 40 million subscribers, it would be bigger than iTunes.

“We’re not too far away from that number, which is the interesting thing,” he continues, “So, I’m absolutely sure that artists will make a decent living, and actually the industry will be larger than it’s ever been, in the next few years.”

Watch the full interview below: