It’s hard to say what deals the major labels get (they won’t tell), but I don’t see a huge benefit beyond piracy besides giving people a legal way to freely listen to your music. Digital music news says:
If Spotify, Rhapsody, or other streaming services won’t answer the question, maybe indie labels and artists will. These figures are from an independent catalog of 87 albums and 1,280 songs, as posted on The Trichordist. On Spotify, they seem consistent with reports of per-song payouts of roughly one-third to one-half of a penny
Either they see it as free marketing to out music on these services (probably) or they’re just really nice guys.
Ever hear of radio?
I can’t find the figures right now, but I’m pretty sure artists still get a bigger share of radio royalties than they do streaming services. Either way, the point is that subscription services like Spotify (often called The Future or “iTunes killers”) are not a healthy replacement for regular downloads from the artist’s point of view.
P.S. good to hear from you!