Producer Irina Gorova spoke about the main sources of income for artists in 2026 against the backdrop of public discussions about the earnings of Ukrainian singers. According to her assessment, in the traditional model, concerts and corporate events provide about 60% of income. She reported this in an interview with Ramina Eskhakzai.
Artists' Earnings: What Sources of Income Gorova Named in 2026
According to the producer, the first earnings an artist can receive come from digital music distribution. This refers to monetization of streams and views on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and YouTube Music. However, for beginners, these amounts are usually small.
TikTok and Instagram play an important role in promotion. When a song gains popularity on social networks, streams increase, and advertising requests and performance offers arise.
Gorova highlighted three main sources of income:
- concerts and corporate performances;
- advertising collaborations;
- monetization of music on digital platforms.
The ratio depends on the specific performer. If an artist is actively working as an influencer, a significant portion of the income may come from advertising. It also helps attract attention to music and concerts.
In the traditional model, according to Gorova's assessment, about 60% of income comes from performances. The dependence of earnings on the concert schedule has also been described by singer Mila Nitych, emphasizing that there are no months with the same earnings for her.
Concerts and Corporate Events: Why Artists Are Seeking Alternatives in Autumn 2026
Gorova noted that the situation with concerts and corporate events is difficult. According to her, starting in September, many events are being postponed or canceled. She did not specify the reasons for each case in the provided fragment of the conversation.
Due to the instability of performances, artists are looking for other opportunities: international projects, collaborations with foreign artists, and releasing music in other languages. This often involves English-language songs or additional versions of already created compositions.
At the same time, the producer emphasized that reaching foreign audiences is a challenging task. Merely recording a song in English is not enough to consider the international direction a guaranteed replacement for concert income.
Gorova cited the figure of 60% as an estimate of the traditional income model, not a universal metric for all artists. Moreover, income from performances does not equal personal profit: various expenses are incurred for the team, recordings, and stage work, as previously discussed by Pavlo Zibrov.