Digital Music - statistics & facts
The digital music industry has been gaining momentum over the last decade thanks to the consolidation and growth of a wide range of digital platforms for accessing and playing digital music, such as streaming services, downloads and major digital media players, to name a few. As a result of this shift in music consumption, digital music accounted for over half of the all the revenue generated by the music industry in 2021 and amounted to a total of 1.1 billion U.S. dollars that year. By far, the U.S. is the most profitable market for the digital music industry worldwide.
Amazon Prime Music, Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, iHeartRadio, Pandora, SoundCloud and Tidal are a few examples of streaming services offered in the United States. Spotify is particularly popular amongst young listeners, as 48 percent of listeners aged 12 to 24 used this service in 2020.
Overall, the music industry in the U.S. is flourishing, driven by consumers with a growing demand for flexible and paid streaming services and an appetite for on-the-go music consumption. The digital music streaming average revenue per user is estimated to amount to 91.91 dollars in 2022, up from just under 72 dollars in 2017, and with consumers moving away from physical formats and towards digital sources with increased velocity, it is digital music, not physical, which determines the future of the U.S. music market.
What does the digital market look like?
Within the U.S. digital music market, streaming and downloading are two of the most popular formats amongst digital music listeners. There were an estimated 116.27 million streaming users in the U.S. in 2022, and the number of people who used downloads to access digital music stood at 47.16 million. Streaming is expected to take over as the main source for digital music in the country. By 2027, the number of streaming users is projected to increase to about 154 million. In line with the growth in number of users, revenue from streaming services is forecast to rise and become the most profitable digital music format in the U.S..Amazon Prime Music, Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, iHeartRadio, Pandora, SoundCloud and Tidal are a few examples of streaming services offered in the United States. Spotify is particularly popular amongst young listeners, as 48 percent of listeners aged 12 to 24 used this service in 2020.
What does the future hold?
Amongst the most popular music genres, dance/electronic music, R&B/hip-hop and Latin music were more likely to be consumed on streaming services rather than on physical albums. On-demand streaming accounted for 86.7 percent of all R&B/hip-hop music consumption in the U.S. in 2021 while 87.4 percent of Latin music was consumed via streaming.Overall, the music industry in the U.S. is flourishing, driven by consumers with a growing demand for flexible and paid streaming services and an appetite for on-the-go music consumption. The digital music streaming average revenue per user is estimated to amount to 91.91 dollars in 2022, up from just under 72 dollars in 2017, and with consumers moving away from physical formats and towards digital sources with increased velocity, it is digital music, not physical, which determines the future of the U.S. music market.
