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Artist Spotlight

Emika Love: Rising Music Artist Spreading Positivity

Emika Love

Meet Emika Love, a 19-year-old rising music artist from Sacramento, California. Emika’s unique sound and style are heavily influenced by her love for visuals and storytelling. In this interview, Emika shares how she tackles challenges in the music industry, her creative process, and her focus on making a positive impact on others through her music and interactions. With a big release coming up on May 19th, Emika is all geared up to bring her best self and leave a lasting impression on her listeners.

Honk: Let’s kick things off by getting to know each other a bit better. Tell us your name, age, and where you’re from—as much or as little as you’re comfortable sharing.

Emika: My name is Emika Love, and I am 19 years old. I am from Sacramento, California.

Honk: We all need good advice from time to time. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received about music?

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Emika: The best advice I got from someone about music was to never stop and to keep pushing my music. One song might not be your favorite, but to someone else, it will be. It’s all about preference. The advice I would give someone is to be unapologetically yourself. It is essential to reach your highest potential!

Honk: If you could go back in time, what would you do differently based on what you know now?

Emika: If I could go back in time, I wouldn’t change anything. Everything I do, I stand by. I never have regrets, nor do I ever feel guilty. This is me, and every step and era I had and made was to make me have all the knowledge I have now. I am very blessed, honored, and thankful for everything and everyone.

Honk: We all face challenges, but what’s your biggest one yet?

Emika: My biggest challenge is that I love challenges.

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Honk: What keeps you motivated and moving forward when things get tough in the music industry?

Emika: The thing that keeps me motivated is that I know where there’s good, there’s bad, and where there is bad, there’s good. Life only gets more complex, but you get stronger. Being able to do what I love is always the solution. So no matter how tough they are, diamonds need pressure. Nothing can take away from my music and motivation because, in the end, I’m doing it for myself and my people. There are going to be challenges, but bring them on.

Honk: If you had the chance to open a show for any artist, who would it be and why?

Emika: If I had the chance to open a show for any artist, it would be Taylor Swift. She brings such a warm, genuine atmosphere to the stage. Very feminine and whimsical energy, and just an all-around powerful, groovy tone. I believe we would bring an undeniable vibration to the stage.

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Honk: Take us through your creative process. How do you come up with your excellent work?

Emika: My creative process is definitely all over the place and comes in so many forms. I usually start off with the visual side of things. So I will create a story visual in my head and say, “Now let’s tell the story. The visual part comes with me being a director, so it really sparks my creative process. Once I come up with the story, it’s time to tell it. I like to sit in the sink in my bathroom, look in the mirror, and sing melodies until I come up with the words. There will also be times where I will have a conversation with someone or read or hear about something that sparks it up as well. Once I come up with all of that, then the wardrobe and makeup come in to finish off the story.

Honk: We all struggle with productivity and scheduling at times. How do you tackle these issues and stay on top of things?

Emika: Productivity I don’t struggle with productivity, but there are times when I get scheduled for something, and the dates and times collide. I tackle this based on the cause. What is the job for? Is it for a good cause? Am I making an impact in others lives? It all depends on what is more effective for not just me but for others.

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Honk: What are you currently focusing your time and energy on?

Emika: I am currently focusing on how to help others and have a positive impact on them. It is imperative to me that I leave a mark, add to people’s lives, and help them overcome some obstacles. I do that, whether it is to talk to them in person or through my music. I am also focusing on my music. I have a big release coming out on May 19th that has a message that people need to hear. That being the case, it is a project that holds a lot of weight in my heart. So I’m super focused on that and, all around, being the best Emika Amber Love.

Honk: Lastly, how can our readers follow you online?

Emika: To follow me online, you can find my music on all platforms as Emika Love, and my social media accounts are as follows: Instagram: eemikalove; Twitter: eemikalove; TikTok: emikalovee; YouTube: Emika Love; and Facebook: Emika Love.

Emika Love is a force to be reckoned with. Her unapologetic attitude towards being herself, pushing boundaries, and taking on challenges is inspiring. She creates from a place of authenticity, and her creative process is as unique as her music. With a big release on the horizon, Emika is focused on making a positive impact through her music and helping others overcome obstacles. Follow her journey on social media and join her mission to leave a lasting mark on the world.

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Artist Spotlight

Who’s Making the Most Money on Spotify in 2025?

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In 2025, Spotify conquers the music streaming world, with 500+ million monthly paying subscribers globally. Considering the platform paid out $10 billion in royalties, a record high, during 2024, it’s evident that streaming is now a revenue stream for artists. Yet only a few musicians are making good money from it.

At the top of the list is Drake, whose 21.5 billion streams yield around $52.5 million. Next up is J Balvin, with $37.9 million this year, a clean-up job from his massive streaming numbers. Other artists who earned significant amounts included Post Malone, Ariana Grande, and Bad Bunny, each featured among the platform’s top earners.

In electronic music, the Chainsmokers had 7.2 billion streams and made $17.7 million, and Calvin Harris made $14 million. The first-place finisher among the grossers is Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You,” which earned $6.6 million from 2.7 billion streams.

Although these numbers are impressive, most artists on Spotify receive a much lower payday. In its 2024 Loud & Clear report, Spotify found that only 4.4% of artists make at least $131,000 annually. On average, an artist in the bottom 98.6% of earners makes just $12 monthly. This difference underscores the difficulties many musicians face in the streaming age.

Dead artists are still having a real impact on Spotify. Pop Smoke, Shoot for the Stars, and Aim for the Moon have 8.51 billion streams, £29.29m, 6.79 billion streams, and £23.37 million in earnings with Juice WRLD’s “Legends Never Die.” Lil Peep and The Notorious B.I.G. are also proving influential, with their music still raking in significant amounts of money.

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Spotify’s global platform has allowed artists to perform in front of audiences beyond their home countries. In 2024, most artists who earned at least $1,000 in royalties made most of their revenue through international listeners, at over 50%. Since 2017, the number of female artists grossing over $1 million per year has quadrupled, signaling greater diversity and representation in the music industry.

The few artists who do make millions from Spotify streams get 1 %, while the 1% of artists get funds. Only a handful of artists are financially rewarded through it, even as the platform’s continued global reach and growing diversity create opportunities for emergent practitioners.

Let me know what you thought of this post in the comments if you found this article interesting!

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Artist Spotlight

Kayla Marque lights a fire with “Slow Burn”

Kayla Marque

Kayla Marque has returned with a new single, “Slow Burn,” a simmering, soul-passionate affair that holds you well past when the last notes die out. True to her endlessly evolving artistry, Marque serves up something future-facing and thoughtful, stitching together a grunge-adjacent bassline with ethereal melodies and haunting vocal dynamics.

Right from the outset, “Slow Burn” sucks you into its smoky milieu. The measured bassline sounds plucked from the ‘90s alt-rock golden age and dunked in modern, velvety skin. But Marque’s voice brings center stage, fluent, forceful, and emotionally detailed. She doesn’t only sing; she tells stories, whispers, and wails, and her approach lends the music an astonishing contrast between restraint and release.

As the song progresses, there’s something undeniably mesmerizing about how the instrumentation interacts with the vocals. The melodies shimmer like heat off the pavement, entrapping listeners in a hypnotic haze that feels at once intimate and cinematic. Marque displays not only her vocal range but also her emotional depth. Every note feels deliberate, and every word feels lived-in.

What’s so exciting about “Slow Burn” is how it feels like another chapter in a broader story. Kayla Marque has consistently refused to settle into a single groove, and this track demonstrates that she’s continuing to push limits and defy expectations. There’s a rawness here, an audacity that doesn’t plead for attention but commands it regardless. It’s a song that reveals more textures and emotions after every listen. “Slow Burn” is a vibe, a feeling, a statement. It’s another step in Kayla Marque’s evolution as an artist, and if this is what’s to come, we’re in for something special.

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