Streaming services push recorded music companies to the highest turnover for a decade

February 28, 2019, 19:23 GMT

By Claire Atkinson

The registered music industry recorded in 2018 its best year in 10 years, generating a business turnover of $ 9.8 billion, thanks to the sharp increase in consumer acceptance for subscription streaming music services.

The Recording Industry Association of America, which monitors revenue from music in the United States, announced Thursday that 2018 was ending with 50.2 million paying music subscriptions, up from 35.3 million the year before , an increase of 42%.

Streaming now accounts for 75% of recorded music revenue, 10% more than in 2017, according to the RIAA.

While streaming services such as Pandora and SoundCloud have laid the foundation for paid music subscriptions, Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music Unlimited have pushed the company to the next level – despite the initial resistance of some of the artists who have Compared with the percentage of royalties collected. Taylor Swift has removed all of her music from streaming platforms until Apple and Spotify have agreed on more favorable financial terms, and Ariana Grande has taken advantage of access to online music to help beat several industry records.

Mitch Glazier, President and CEO of RIAA, praised the increase in revenue, but noted that digital distribution still posed problems.

"It's worth noting that it's up to businesses to make $ 10 billion in revenue again, which will only bring American music back to 2007 levels," said Glazier. "Breaks in the flow and lack of accountability for many Big Tech companies that reduce the value of music remain serious threats as the industry strives to generate additional growth."

Although the sector is at odds with free advertising-funded music services, such as YouTube, which do not generate significant revenues for music companies, RIAA data show that "on-demand streaming funded by the "advertising – which includes YouTube, Vevo and the free version of Spotify – contributes $ 759.5 million a year, an increase of 15% since 2017.

The RIAA also revealed that record sales continued to increase by 8%, reaching $ 419 million in 2018, while CD sales decreased by 34% to $ 698 million, the first time the number Disc business was less than $ 1 billion since 1986. Vinyl records now account for one-third of the music industry's revenues from physical formats.