Today, here’s how the economics work. DigitalNewsDaily.com reports that Ken Shipley of the Numero Group worked out this breakdown of the payouts from the upcoming iCloud, which Shipley has opted out of:

70% of each $25 account is spread out over every “match” made for a year.

70% of $25 = $17.50

$17.50 on an average song library of 5,000 songs = $.0035 per song.

$17.50 on the maximum song library of 25,000 songs = $.0007 per song.

12% of that is then given to the publisher(s), according to the breakdown offered.

“For a publisher to make $1 at the 5,000 song math, they would need 1,667 matches,” Shipley told the Digital Daily News. “I don’t write $1 checks.”

Want to make money playing music? The cloud may be great for fans, but it looks like another financial dead end for musicians.