Singer Ivyanna is opening up about the harsh realities of chasing a music career in the streaming era.
The rising artist recently went viral after sharing an emotional video on social media. She admitted her frustration over being unable to make money from her music, despite having more than 100,000 Instagram followers and 50,000 TikTok followers.
In the clip, which quickly spread across platforms like MyMixtapez and multiple Instagram accounts, Ivyanna tearfully repeated the numbers she can’t seem to escape: just 40 monthly listeners on Spotify.
”How fing long do I have to keep doing this s to make money off of this s***, bro? I have a hundred thousand fing followers on Instagram, I have fifty thousand followers on TikTok, nobody want to give me money. I don’t want to start an OnlyFans. My music career is fing trash. I have forty f***ing monthly listeners. What the?” she said, adding firmly that she refuses to turn to OnlyFans as an alternative source of income.
Her raw honesty struck a chord with thousands of struggling independent artists who face the same uphill battle.
While she’s built a strong presence online, her situation reflects a reality for many musicians today: social followers often engage more with personality-driven content than actual tracks. And with Spotify paying out just £0.002 to £0.004 per stream, small numbers add up to almost nothing.
Experts say that with 40 monthly listeners, Ivyanna likely makes under ÂŁ10 a month from streaming. Artists typically need between 200,000 and 800,000 monthly listeners to make an honest living from Spotify.
Ivyanna’s refusal to start an OnlyFans account also touched a nerve. The platform has paid creators over £16 billion, but many artists say it doesn’t fit their image, brand, or long-term music goals. For Ivyanna, the decision was simple: it’s not the kind of platform she wants to use to make money.
Her breakdown comes at a tough time for independent musicians. Spotify’s recent 1,000-stream minimum threshold, introduced in April 2024, has already cost smaller artists an estimated £37.5 million in lost royalties. In addition to inflation, fewer live performance opportunities, and the constant demand for social media content, many artists are burning out.
Still, experts say there are alternatives. Platforms like Bandcamp and Patreon let fans directly support their favorite artists, vinyl sales are booming again, and opportunities in sync licensing (placing songs in TV, movies, and ads) can provide far greater paydays than years of streaming.
Though Ivyanna’s rant was emotional, it struck a powerful chord online. Her words have opened up a broader conversation about how hard it is for independent musicians to survive in today’s industry.
Her story is one of frustration — but also a call to rethink how success in music is measured.
