For Artists · Paid Per Minute

Get paid for every minute they actually listened.

TollRoad meters revenue per minute played — not per stream, not per play count. You set your rate. We take one transparent 10% cut and say it out loud. Your 90% meters directly to you.

90%meters directly to you · per minute played
Why TollRoad · What Changes

Built for artists who want real numbers.

01

Paid per minute heard

You earn on real attention — not pooled per-stream fractions that shift every quarter. A two-minute listen pays half a four-minute listen. Math you can actually check.

02

Transparent 10% cut

One honest, openly-stated 10%. We say it out loud so you can hold us to it. Your 90% transfers directly to you — no opaque pool taking a hidden skim in between.

03

Set your rate. Direct pay.

You set your per-minute rate. Revenue meters directly to you every play — no quarterly settlement, no label approval gate. The meter runs; money follows.

04

New agent demand

AI agents are a new paying audience buying licensed music by the minute for workflows and ambient environments. Revenue that did not exist before — yours to capture.


The Honest Cut · Old Model vs. TollRoad

Opaque pools ended. Transparent metering begins.

The old model
  • Pooled per-stream fractions
  • Opaque quarterly payout rate
  • Platform takes an undisclosed cut
  • Settle months after plays
  • Rate shifts each quarter — you never know

The math is hidden because opacity is the business model. You get a statement; you never get the formula.

TollRoad
  • Per-minute metering — real attention
  • Transparent 10% cut, stated plainly
  • Your 90% meters directly to you
  • No settlement delay — direct per play
  • AI agents: new revenue channel, per minute

The math is visible because transparency is the product. You see the formula; you can audit every output.

“We are the honest cut — one rate, stated plainly, never buried in a pool.”

Why we state the cut

Streaming royalties have been a black box since the beginning. Platforms pool everything, divide by plays, and hand artists a per-stream rate that shifts every quarter. The math never adds up because you are not meant to see it.

TollRoad does not hide our cut. We state it plainly: 10%, ours. The remaining 90% is yours — metered per minute, direct, no intermediary skimming between the deduction and your account.

Attention, not play counts

When a listener skips at 30 seconds, you earn 30 seconds. When they play a track twice through, you earn twice. The signal is honest — you know which tracks hold attention and which lose it before the chorus.

AI agents follow the same meter. Every minute of licensed music they consume charges the same rate as a human listener. That is a new revenue channel that did not exist in the per-stream world.


How It Works · The Meter Path

Three moves. Then money.

No pool. No quarterly reconciliation. No mystery rates. Here is the path from play to your payout.

01

Someone plays

A listener — or an AI agent — queues your track. The meter starts the moment audio begins. Not per play. Per minute.

listener · agent · metered
10%90%

The cut, stated once

TollRoad takes its transparent 10% and says so plainly. The remaining 90% never enters a pool or a settlement queue.

our cut · stated once · honest
90%

Meters directly to you

Your 90% transfers directly. Per minute. Every play. No delay, no approval gate. Money follows attention.

your earnings · direct · per minute

Night Drive · For Artists

Bring your catalog.

One transparent cut — 10%, stated plainly.
Your 90% meters directly to you per minute played.