Music industry revenues reach record heights in the US
According to a new report, revenues have reached record heights in the recorded music industry across the United States.
RIAA’s latest mid-year report shows total revenues grew 9.3% during this period, reaching an all-time high of $8.4billion at estimated retail value. Meanwhile, at wholesale value, revenues reached $5.3billion following an 8.3% surge.
Additionally, the report shows that subscription services to streaming platforms grew 11% to $5.5billion, while the number of accounts increased by 6% growth. RIAA states that paid subscriptions are now responsible for more than 75% of revenue for streaming platforms. In total, there are 96million subscriptions currently active.
On the whole, streaming has continued to assert its dominance in the industry and now contributes 84% of revenue in the United States. While it’s the fourth year that streaming has made up a similar percentage of revenue, it has grown by 10.3% to $7billion.
Last year, vinyl sales grew by 22% and although the medium hasn’t measured similar figures in the latest report, it has still increased by 1%. Physical formats are now at their highest level since 2013, contributing $882million to the industry with vinyl making up for $632million of this figure. Vinyl again outsold CDs by eight million units.
Digital downloads have again declined, this time by 12% to $225 million. The sector of the industry now only accounts for 3% of recorded-music revenues in the United States in 2023.
Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, sales of cassette tapes have reached a 20-year peak. Earlier this year, it was revealed that 195,000 were sold in 2022, which is a stark contrast to the 3,823 units that were shifted in 2012.
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