Streaming accounts for 80% of music industry revenues

More and more people are listening to music streaming via services like Apple Music and Spotify, and the music industry is booming.

In the United States, revenues generated by streaming services in the United States increased by 26% in the first six months of the year, according to Recording Industry Association of America the the Wall Street newspaper. According to research conducted by the group, this represents a turnover of $ 4.3 billion, which represents about 80% of the overall turnover of the music industry.

While this includes both paid subscriptions and ad-supported feeds, the report also indicates that paid subscriptions grew by 31 per cent, accounting for 62 per cent of total industry revenue. Spotify has more than 100 million subscribers and Apple Music has 56 million paying subscribers. The recording industry in the United States saw its revenues increase by 18% – reaching $ 5.4 billion – in the first half of 2019.

However, it is not just streaming that is helping the industry to get back on track: sales of physical media have also increased. Vinyl and CD sales increased 5% and 13%, respectively. CD sales accounted for approximately $ 485 million of industry revenue in the first six months of the year, while vinyl sales generated an additional $ 224 million.

Despite significant increases in physical media purchases, it is clear that streaming is a dominant force for the US industry. More and more artists have also adopted streaming platforms. According to the study, Taylor Swift, Drake and Ariana Grande are among the top performers on services like Spotify. Even Tool has recently made its music available on streaming platforms for the first time. Yet artists are only paid for a fraction of each stream.