How does Yahoo Music Unlimited pay Record Companies for the songs people download?

Question

I was just wondering if anyone knew how Yahoo Music unlimited and similar services paid music companies for all the music people are downloading. It obviously comes from the 6$ a month they charge, but how would that cover all the music people are listening to on their service? I'm guessing they pay the record company so much per month for every song downloaded. Anyone have any idea?

(Please don't say "they split the 6$ between the record companies and themselves" or something similar. An answer that simple won't get best answer. I'm wondering about the specifics)

Answer 1

I heard it was 20 cents a song. Yahoo loses money at the beginning because everyone downloads so many songs. But after a while people stop downloading and just listen to the music. Then Yahoo makes money in the long run.