Artificial intelligence is no longer just reshaping how music is created — it's also proving to be a lucrative business.
A new study by Kapwing has found that the world's biggest AI music artists have generated an estimated US$6.1 million from more than 2.3 billion combined Spotify streams and YouTube views, underscoring just how quickly AI-generated music is finding mainstream audiences.
The report arrives as streaming platforms continue stepping up efforts to tackle AI-generated content. Spotify has removed millions of AI-generated and spam tracks, while Deezer recently revealed that AI-made songs now account for more than half of all new daily uploads. Despite these measures, the study suggests AI musicians continue to attract millions of listeners and viewers across major platforms.
On Spotify, the top 10 AI artists have collectively earned an estimated US$2.38 million from roughly 595 million streams. Leading the pack is Enlly Blue, a "1950s-style" AI vocalist whose catalogue has amassed 95.2 million streams, translating to an estimated US$380,800 in Spotify earnings.
YouTube paints an even bigger picture. The platform's top 10 AI music creators have generated an estimated US$3.70 million from approximately 1.75 billion views, with Cherry 葵 Nightcore accounting for more than half that figure. The creator has accumulated 941 million views, resulting in estimated earnings of nearly US$2 million.
Beyond revenue, the report highlights the scale of AI artists' reach across streaming services. Masters of Prophecy tops the overall follower rankings with 36.1 million followers across platforms, while King Willonius leads all AI musicians with 500 chart entries. Producer Don Bnnr, meanwhile, boasts the largest playlist reach, appearing on 1,852 playlists with a combined follower count of 46.7 million listeners.
Kapwing compiled the rankings using data from AiMCharts and Songstats, analysing lifetime Spotify streams, YouTube views, followers, playlist placements and chart entries. Estimated Spotify earnings were calculated using an industry-average payout of US$0.004 per stream, while YouTube estimates were based on SocialBlade's default RPM midpoint of US$2.12 per 1,000 views.
As streaming services continue introducing tools to identify and label AI-generated music, the findings suggest that some AI artists have already crossed into the mainstream, building audiences in the tens of millions and generating meaningful revenue despite increasing scrutiny.
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