Gone are the days of dodgy pirate versions of Swifty and the trojan war on computers thanks to the rise of streaming.
The Record Industry Association of America has just published it’s annual end of year revenue report and streaming is absolutely killing the game. Streaming subscriptions made up 75% of the $9.8billion earnings in the industry (in the US).
Industry revenue from streaming in 2018 soared to new heights, comprising 75% of all earnings from over 50 million paid subscriptions.
Subscriptions have now reached over 50 million users worldwide, and overall industry revenue was up 12% from last year, which means we’re really supporting the artists we love.
Vinyl sales also reached their highest revenue level since 1988, go us! Interestingly, 80% of people who buy records under the age of 30 don’t actually own a record player… same.
Synchronisation also saw a tasty increase in revenue from 2017, further showing that music is once again becoming valued. We’re so lucky to have amazing musos doing their thing in a society that values their art.
While it has been an overall great year to be a musician, not all mediums shared the same excitement. Unsurprisingly, CD sales have dropped by 34%.
Read the full report here.
