I tried 12 Apps That Claim to Pay You to Listen to Music (These 4 Actually Pay)

How Much Can You Really Make Listening to Music?

Bottom line: This is coffee money unless you’re a serious playlist curator. If you try to run passive music apps on your main phone, you will probably wear down a $1,000 device to earn pocket change.

If you want to do this the smart way, read the setup section below before downloading anything.

If you’re wondering whether you can make real money listening to music, here’s the reality:

• Passive apps = $0.10–$0.30 per hour equivalent
• Review sites = about $0.50–$2 per hour
• Playlist curator platforms = $12+ per approved song

My Personal Experience

I have been running MoneyPantry since 2013, which means I spend 10+ hours a day in front of my computer here in my St. Louis home office. The silence drives me crazy, so I always have music playing in the background.

Back around 2018, while researching for passive ways to make extra cash I stumbled across a site called Slicethepie.

I thought “If I’m going to have music playing while I blog anyway, why not get paid for it?”

So I signed up for every music reward site in existence. I have watched this industry evolve for 8 + years.

Here’s the issue…

Most of these sites are a waste of time.

After grinding for a month on Slicethepie, I made just enough for a gas station coffee. Plus, I had to listen to some truly awful garage bands.

That said, it is a legit platform and one of the better ones that actually pay you for listening and reviewing music.

I have tested dozens, and these are the only ones worth your storage space in 2026.

The “MoneyPantry Burner Protocol” (Read Before Downloading)

Apps that pay you to stream music require constant data and screen time.

They eat battery life.

To make any money, you need to keep the app running in the background for hours.

If you do this on your main phone (whether it’s iPhone, Android or whether else), you are degrading a $1,000+ device to earn pennies. So you are actually losing money.

Here’s my set up (including for this test)

I dug out an old cracked Samsung Galaxy (the one I almost threw away in 2022). I wiped it, installed only these music apps, plugged it into a charger in my home office, and let it run on Wi-Fi while I worked.

This is the only way to actually make money listening to music.

Here are the results.

1. Mode Mobile (Former Current Rewards)

• Payout: PayPal, gift cards (minimums vary, often $5+ equivalent).

The Mode Earn App (formerly Current Rewards) is a passive way to earn money by listening to music, watching videos, playing games, and completing other tasks on your smartphone’s lock screen.

If you want a truly passive income where you hit “Play” and walk away, this is the only real option left in 2026. Mode Mobile essentially pays you for data collection.

How It Works

You earn “credits” for listening to over 100,000 radio stations. These credits can be redeemed for gift cards, cash (via PayPal), or other prizes.

My Results

Since I work at my desk all day, I always have a spare Android phone plugged in playing one of their 100,000 radio stations.

But for this test specifically I actually used it last week when we had the snow storm in St. Louis. So I fired up the app while spending around an hour or so clearing ice and snow off my driveway.

• Earnings: About 450 points.
• Conversion: You need about 25,000 points to cash out a $10 PayPal card.

Biggest Cons (for me personally)

Way too many ads

They are aggressive with ads. Sometimes the music stops and you have to watch a 30-second video to “Boost” your earning rate back up. If you ignore the phone for too long, the earning rate drops to near zero.

You have to “check in”

Ands you can’t just leave it running overnight while you sleep. The app requires you to “Check-in” periodically to prove you are still listening. If you miss a check-in, your earning rate drops to zero.

Drains battery

It drains battery like crazy. Do not use this on your main phone if you are going out. But if you are sitting at a desk like me? It’s free Amazon gift cards for doing nothing.

Bottom Line

It’s reliable, but slow. It’s the closest thing to “free money” on this list.

2. Slicethepie (Active Work, Not Passive)

• Payout: PayPal (minimum $10)

Slicethepie is the one I started with back in 2018. It is legitimate—they will pay you—but you have to really work for it.

With Slice the Pie, you are literally getting paid to review music.

My Experience

When I first started using Slicethepie around 2018, I found it surprisingly addictive.

You have to listen for at least 60 seconds per track. I’ve listened to everything from indie folk to some truly baffling experimental stuff I genuinely couldn’t stand – and yes, you have to be honest in your review.

The most I ever made in a month was enough for a few cups of gas station coffee. It’s not a money-maker, but it’s a legitimate way to discover new artists while earning pocket change.

My Test

Again, I have been using Slice the Pie for years but for this test I wanted to see if writing generic reviews would work.

So I listened to a track and wrote: “This is a good song, I like the drums.”

Result

REJECTED. The system flagged my review as “Too Generic.” Needles to say I didn’t get paid a cent for that time.

But that doesn’t mean this is a scam. They are legit and in fact I have gotten paid way too many times over the years to keep count.

But to actually get paid ($0.15 – $0.20 per review), you need to be specific. Mention the “vocal range,” the “compression on the bass,” or the “lyrics.”

But to be honest, if you are a slow typer, this is not worth your time.

Pay Rate

2 to 20 cents per review. The more detailed and helpful your review, the higher your rating, and potentially, your pay per review.

My Verdict

Low pay, but consistent and legitimate. Great for discovering music.

3. PlaylistPush (The Only One That Pays Real Money)

This is the only site where the money is actual “rent money,” paying up to $12.00 per song. But there is a massive catch.

PlaylistPush connects indie artists with playlist curators.

Artists pay you to listen to their song. If you like it, you add it to your playlist. You get paid for the review regardless of whether you add the song or not.

Requirement

You cannot just sign up. You have to own a public playlist on Spotify or Apple Music with real, organic followers (usually a minimum of 1,000).

My Failure Story

I tried to apply with my personal workout playlist (which has 150 followers). I was instantly disqualified.

However, if you have spent years building a “Lofi Study Beats” playlist or a “2000s Country” playlist with a few thousand followers, you are sitting on a goldmine. You get paid to listen to a song, and if you like it, add it to your list. That’s it.

My Verdict

Don’t try to game this. If you buy fake followers to boost your playlist count, PlaylistPush’s AI will ban you instantly.

I tried applying with my personal playlist of 150 followers and was rejected immediately.

This is a side hustle for “Playlist Influencers.” If you are a playlist curator, this is the best money you will make in the music niche ($12/song).

4. Welocalize (Music Transcription)

If you have a good ear and fast typing skills, Welocalize sometimes offers music transcription jobs.

How it Works

You apply for a “Music Transcriber” role. If accepted, you’ll be assigned songs to transcribe.

This isn’t really “listening for fun”; it is listening for accuracy. You listen to songs and type out the lyrics to train AI models for sites like Spotify and Apple Music (so the scrolling lyrics on your phone are accurate).

Pay Rate

It pays per song (usually around $4.00), which is much higher than listening to radio. However, the work is sporadic. You have to apply and wait for a project to open. As far as payment options, you typically get paid via direct deposit or PayPal.

My Experience

While I haven’t done music transcription for them, my background in MoneyPantry often involves researching various forms of transcription.

Music transcription can be really hard due to unclear vocals, multiple instruments, or foreign languages. But, it pays way more than simple listening platforms.

My Verdict

Higher pay, but requires a skill (accurate typing/listening) and more active work.

Why I Don’t Recommend SmashHaus (Musicxray)

While I signed up for Musicxray years ago, I rarely found enough tracks to make it worth my time.

And my latest research shows the same issues despite them “rebranding”.

Many users report frequent disqualifications or a lack of available songs.

They often promote connecting with artists as much as earning money.

At 10 cents per song, you need to listen to 200 songs just to hit their $20 PayPal minimum. In my book, that’s not an efficient use of time for making money.

FAQ: Getting Paid to Listen to Music

Apps I Removed

I pride myself on keeping MoneyPantry updated.

I have removed the following popular apps from this list because they no longer meet my standards in 2026:

• RadioLoyalty: The CAPTCHA requirement is now so frequent it makes the app unusable. Not worth the frustration.
• HitPredictor: They have shifted almost entirely to “Raffle Entries” instead of cash. I don’t work for lottery tickets.
• Unique Rewards: A massive spike in users reporting “Missed Payments” and account bans upon trying to cash out.
• Research.fm: No longer accepting new listeners.
• RadioEarn: A website that promises passive income but has suffered massive downtime and user reports of non-payment this year. Not secure.

So… Is Getting Paid to Listen to Music Worth It?

If you are trying to pay rent? No.

But if you are a music lover with a solid Spotify playlist and want to make some extra cash passively, apps like PlaylistPush can genuinely put an extra $10-$20 in your pocket.

My advice?

Use the “Burner Phone” strategy. Set up Mode Mobile on a spare device, connect it to Wi-Fi, and let it earn you a free Amazon gift card every few weeks.

For everything else, focus on active hustles where your time is worth more than 10 cents an hour.