Future, Drake, Lil Durk + More Songwriter Royalties

This is a catalog built on genuine star power, and one that is beginning to stabilize. It holds the public performance royalties behind A-list hits: Drake's number-one single "Way 2 Sexy," Future's "Puffin on Zootiez," Lil Durk's "Monitoring Me" and "Ahhh Ha," and Nicki Minaj's "Last Time I Saw You." These are not deep cuts. "Way 2 Sexy" topped the Billboard Hot 100 and has drawn over 675 million streams on Spotify alone. And after the steep climb and fall that follows major releases, the catalog's earnings are now starting to settle rather than slide.

At its core this is a global, streaming-driven catalog. Streaming generates about 85% of royalties, with the rest coming from radio, satellite radio, and other public performance. Apple Music is the single largest platform, ahead of Spotify and YouTube, and that works in the catalog's favor: Apple has no free tier, so every stream comes from a paying subscriber, and it tends to pay a higher rate per play than services with large free audiences.

That audience is worldwide. Roughly 72% of earnings come from the United States and about 28% from abroad, led by the United Kingdom at about 7% of the total, followed by Canada, Germany, and Australia, giving the catalog demand across several independent markets rather than a single one.

At a weighted dollar age of nearly 4 years, the catalog is showing clear signs of leveling off after its post-release peak. The strongest evidence is in the most recent year: all four quarters of 2025 landed in a narrow band between roughly $7,100 and $8,700, near $8,200 a quarter. The individual songs tell the same story: "Way 2 Sexy" held steady across all four quarters of 2025, "I Don't Know" has paid a steady four-figure sum every year since 2019, Lil Durk's 2022 single "Ahhh Ha" has flattened to a consistent quarterly level after its release-year peak. For a buyer, that is the appeal: a roster of proven hits from some of the biggest names in music, settling into a steadier base.

"Way 2 Sexy," the 2021 lead single from Drake's Certified Lover Boy. It debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, Drake's ninth chart-topper and Future's first, and is certified platinum. Drake is one of the best-selling artists in history, a Grammy winner, and Billboard's Artist of the Decade for the 2010s.

"Puffin on Zootiez" (2022) is a platinum, top-five Hot 100 cut from Future's I Never Liked You, the biggest debut of his career and a number one on the Billboard 200. Future helped shape modern melodic trap and still tops the charts, with multiple number-one albums as recently as 2024.

"Monitoring Me" (2024), from Lil Durk's Deep Thoughts, marked a return to his Chicago drill roots and landed the year Durk won his first Grammy. He remains one of rap's most active and heavily streamed artists."Wake Up" (2024) pairs rising Arista artist SkyLar Blatt with Grammy-winning R&B star Chris Brown, a high-profile feature built for playlists and radio.

"Ahhh Ha" (2022), the third single from Lil Durk's album 7220, reached the top five of Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. A hard-edged Chicago drill record, it gives the catalog a second Durk cut alongside "Monitoring Me."