2021 saw the global music market boom as it reached the highest net worth ever recorded, surpassing $28 billion Australian dollars.
Not to be dramatic, but it seems as though the entire world is falling to pieces at the moment. But recent reports have given hope that the music industry might not be facing its brutal demise.
Per the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), recorded music sales grew by 18 percent last year, producing its highest figures since records began in the 90s.
You can probably guess the biggest contributors to last year’s sales. Frontrunners included Adele, Taylor Swift, and South Korean boy band BTS.
But unfortunately, just because the industry is booming, doesn’t mean the artists are receiving the cash flow they deserve.
65 percent of the year’s total income was channelled through streaming services, which have amassed more than 523 million users, up from 443 million the previous year.
On the other hand, vinyl sales grew once again in 2021, and CD sales increased for the first time in nearly two decades, accounting for close to $800 million of the total revenue.
This is the industry’s seventh consecutive year of growth according to the IFPI, with the body’s chief executive Frances Moore telling the BBC, “We lived through that dire period after 1999 where the industry declined by 40 per cent.”
“We didn’t envisage we’d be in a situation [this year] where we report on 60 or 70 countries and every single one is in growth,” added Moore.
Not bad for a year that was pretty much a complete write-off.
