Think of the music industry as a swelling symphony of money, creativity, and streaming numbers, fueled by a 10.2% surge in global revenues to $28.6 billion in 2023, its tenth straight year of growth.
Key Takeaways
- In 2023, global recorded music revenues grew by 10.2% to reach US$28.6 billion, marking the tenth consecutive year of growth.
- Streaming accounted for 67% of global recorded music revenues in 2023, generating US$19.3 billion.
- The US music market generated US$17.1 billion in recorded music revenues in 2023, representing 40% of the global total.
- Paid audio subscriptions reached 667 million globally in 2023.
- Spotify had 236 million premium subscribers worldwide at end of 2023.
- Total on-demand audio streams globally hit 4.3 trillion in 2023.
- Global downloads fell 10.4% to 229 million units in 2023.
- Vinyl album sales worldwide reached 120 million units in 2023.
- CDs sold 244 million units globally in 2023, down 17.8%.
- Global music industry live revenues reached US$31.5 billion in 2023.
- Top 100 tours grossed US$9.1 billion in 2023.
- Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour grossed US$1.04 billion from 60 shows in 2023.
- Number of signed artists in global major labels reached 35,000 in 2023.
- Women represented 31% of artists on Spotify’s global top 200 in 2023.
- Independent labels’ market share was 46.5% of global recorded revenues 2023.
The global music industry continues its strong growth, driven largely by streaming and live concerts.
Artists Labels and Demographics
- Number of signed artists in global major labels reached 35,000 in 2023.
- Women represented 31% of artists on Spotify’s global top 200 in 2023.
- Independent labels’ market share was 46.5% of global recorded revenues 2023.
- Universal Music Group held 32% global market share in 2023.
- Sony Music Entertainment share was 22.4% in 2023.
- Warner Music Group market share 15.8% globally 2023.
- Average Spotify payout per stream was US$0.0038 in 2023.
- 120,000 new tracks uploaded daily to Spotify in 2023.
- Top 1% of artists captured 90% of US streaming revenues 2023.
- Latin artists grew 28% on global charts in 2023.
- K-pop acts occupied 10% of Billboard Global 200 in 2023 avg.
- Afrobeats streams up 550% since 2017, peaking 2023.
- 70% of songwriters are under 35 years old globally 2023.
- US had 5,000 active recording studios in 2023.
- Female producers represented 5.5% of top 1,000 in 2023.
- Indie artists on DistroKid uploaded 15 million tracks in 2023.
- TuneCore distributed for 1.5 million artists in 2023.
- Global DJ count estimated at 1.2 million professionals 2023.
- 52% of Gen Z discover music via TikTok in 2023 survey.
- Classical music listeners grew 20% among under-35s 2023.
- Hip-hop first genre to surpass 50% US consumption share ever in 2023.
- 1 in 4 artists earn over US$100,000 annually top tier 2023.
- Brazil had 50,000 registered musicians with unions 2023.
- UK black artists up 15% on charts post-2020 2023 data.
- Global manager count for artists: 25,000 full-time 2023 est.
- 40% of top streaming songs by non-English artists 2023.
Artists Labels and Demographics Interpretation
With a staggering 120,000 new tracks flooding Spotify daily and the average stream paying a mere $0.0038, the music industry is a paradox where, despite indie labels nearly matching the majors in revenue share and global sounds flourishing, success remains a ruthless lottery dominated by a tiny elite while the vast majority of signed artists are left fighting for scraps in an ocean of content.
Live Music and Touring
- Global music industry live revenues reached US$31.5 billion in 2023.
- Top 100 tours grossed US$9.1 billion in 2023.
- Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour grossed US$1.04 billion from 60 shows in 2023.
- Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres tour earned US$768 million in 2023.
- 77 million tickets sold to top 100 tours in 2023.
- Average ticket price for top tours was US$118.60 in 2023.
- North America hosted 57% of top grossing shows in 2023.
- Festivals generated US$5.9 billion in 2023 globally.
- Glastonbury Festival sold 210,000 tickets in 2 hours for 2023.
- Las Vegas residencies grossed US$1.2 billion in 2023.
- Europe live market up 15% post-COVID in 2023.
- Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour grossed US$579 million in 2023.
- U2’s Sphere residency averaged US$13.9 million per show in 2023.
- Global concert attendance reached 142 million for top events in 2023.
- Latin America tours grew 25% in gross to US$850 million.
- Australia/NZ market tickets up 12% to 12.5 million in 2023.
- K-pop acts like Blackpink grossed US$148 million on world tour 2023.
- Coachella 2023 weekend 1 attendance 125,000 per day.
- Live Nation reported US$18.7 billion revenue in 2023.
- UK live music grossed £6.6 billion in 2023.
- Asia-Pacific live market recovered to US$2.1 billion in 2023.
- Mexico City concerts averaged 50,000 attendance per show 2023.
- Ed Sheeran’s Mathematics tour added US$250 million in 2023 legs.
- Download Festival UK 110,000 attendees over weekend 2023.
- US arena shows up 8% to 15,200 average attendance 2023.
- Tomorrowland Belgium drew 400,000 over two weekends 2023.
- Global live streaming events generated US$500 million in 2023.
- The 1975’s UK tour sold out 600,000 tickets in 2023.
- Lollapalooza Brazil 750,000 attendees in 2023.
Live Music and Touring Interpretation
While Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour single-handedly funded a small country and stadiums everywhere began printing money, the truly sobering statistic is that the average fan, clutching their $118.60 ticket, might be the most reliable central banker the global economy has left.
Physical Sales and Formats
- Global downloads fell 10.4% to 229 million units in 2023.
- Vinyl album sales worldwide reached 120 million units in 2023.
- CDs sold 244 million units globally in 2023, down 17.8%.
- Japan accounted for 52% of global physical sales in 2023.
- US vinyl sales hit 43 million units in 2023, up 14.3%.
- Cassette sales grew 20% to over 400,000 units in US 2023.
- UK vinyl sales reached 6.5 million units in 2023.
- Physical formats generated US$4.4 billion globally in 2023.
- Germany CD sales down 19% but vinyl up 12% in 2023.
- France physical sales share was 44% of market in 2023.
- Australia vinyl sales up 72% to 452,000 units in 2023.
- Global CD revenues fell to US$2.0 billion in 2023.
- Indie labels held 45.8% share of US vinyl sales in 2023.
- Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) sold 2.5 million vinyl in 2023.
- Poland vinyl market grew 60% in 2023.
- South Korea physical sales dominated by K-pop cassettes and photobooks.
- Netherlands vinyl revenues up 40% to €25 million in 2023.
- Canada vinyl sales reached 1.2 million units in 2023.
- Italy CD sales down but vinyl up 25% in 2023.
- Global merch bundled with physical grew 15% in 2023.
- US CD sales 36 million units in 2023.
- Japan CD shipments 63 million units in 2023.
- UK CD sales 10.4 million units down 19% in 2023.
- Brazil physical share down to 28% but vinyl rising.
Physical Sales and Formats Interpretation
As downloads continue their digital retreat, the defiant resurgence of vinyl and physical nostalgia, led by superfans and Japan's unwavering loyalty, proves that in a streaming world, people still yearn to own the music they can literally hold in their hands.
Revenue and Market Size
- In 2023, global recorded music revenues grew by 10.2% to reach US$28.6 billion, marking the tenth consecutive year of growth.
- Streaming accounted for 67% of global recorded music revenues in 2023, generating US$19.3 billion.
- The US music market generated US$17.1 billion in recorded music revenues in 2023, representing 40% of the global total.
- Sub-Saharan Africa saw the fastest growth in recorded music revenues at 22.5% in 2023.
- Japan recorded music revenues reached US$2.9 billion in 2023, driven by physical sales.
- Global music publishing revenues grew by 11.4% to US$6.8 billion in 2023.
- Performance rights accounted for 49% of global publishing revenues in 2023.
- Latin America’s recorded music market grew by 17.7% to US$1.5 billion in 2023.
- In 2023, paid music subscription revenues worldwide reached US$14.4 billion, up 11.3%.
- Vinyl revenues globally increased by 14.2% to US$1.4 billion in 2023.
- The global music industry’s total economic impact, including direct and indirect, was estimated at US$66.3 billion in 2022.
- Europe generated 31.2% of global recorded music revenues in 2023.
- China’s recorded music revenues grew 15.3% to US$1.1 billion in 2023.
- Sync revenues in publishing grew 12.8% globally in 2023.
- Australasia’s market share was 2.8% of global revenues in 2023.
- Global recorded music revenues per capita were highest in Sweden at US$33.50 in 2023.
- The Middle East and Africa region grew 12.4% in 2023.
- Mechanical rights represented 24% of publishing revenues in 2023.
- India’s recorded music revenues reached US$402 million in 2023, up 14.4%.
- Global sync licensing revenues hit US$551 million in 2023.
- In 2022, the music industry supported 2.1 million jobs worldwide.
- UK recorded music revenues grew 9.5% to £1.3 billion in 2023.
- Germany’s market was US$2.1 billion in 2023.
- France recorded music revenues up 6.2% to €851 million in 2023.
- Brazil’s revenues grew 21.6% to US$457 million in 2023.
- South Korea’s market reached US$1.4 billion in 2023.
- Canada’s recorded music revenues hit CAD 2.4 billion in 2023.
- Australia grew 10.4% to AUD 780 million in 2023.
- Mexico’s market up 22.3% to US$255 million in 2023.
- Nigeria’s revenues grew 32.9% in 2023.
- Global recorded music market projected to reach US$38.5 billion by 2028.
Revenue and Market Size Interpretation
The industry's record-breaking decade, powered by streaming and spiced with a vinyl revival, is finally humming a global tune, with the US and Europe still headlining but Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa climbing the charts at a blistering pace.
Streaming and Digital Consumption
- Paid audio subscriptions reached 667 million globally in 2023.
- Spotify had 236 million premium subscribers worldwide at end of 2023.
- Total on-demand audio streams globally hit 4.3 trillion in 2023.
- YouTube Music and Premium had 100 million subscribers in Q4 2023.
- Apple Music subscribers exceeded 88 million in 2023.
- Amazon Music Unlimited had 61 million subscribers in 2023.
- Tencent Music Entertainment reported 120.6 million subscriptions in Q4 2023.
- Global ad-supported audio streams grew 19% to 1.1 trillion in 2023.
- Video streams accounted for 67.1% of total US streams in 2023.
- Programmatic audio ad spend in music streaming reached US$1.2 billion in 2023.
- India led global streaming growth with 28.2% increase in 2023.
- Latin America streams grew 25.6% year-over-year in 2023.
- Sub-Saharan Africa streaming volumes up 24.8% in 2023.
- Average revenue per user (ARPU) for streaming subs was US$4.25 monthly globally in 2023.
- 115 billion streams in the US in Q1 2023 alone.
- Hip-hop/R&B genre dominated US streaming at 30.7% share in 2023.
- Podcast consumption on Spotify grew 20% YoY to 4.7 billion hours in 2023.
- Deezer had 10 million subscribers in 2023.
- Global music streaming market size was US$34.5 billion in 2023.
- Tidal reported 3 million subscribers post-Jay-Z era in 2023.
- SoundCloud Go+ had 30 million users in 2023.
- Napster (now merged) had niche streaming users contributing to digital growth.
- Global short-form video music streams (TikTok/Reels) influenced 40% of discoveries in 2023.
- Pandora ad-supported streams hit 70 billion annually in 2023.
- Audiomack reached 10 million monthly active users in emerging markets 2023.
- Boomplay in Africa had 60 million MAU and 18 million paying users in 2023.
- Anghami in MENA had 73 million users in 2023.
- JioSaavn in India surpassed 100 million MAU in 2023.
- Wynk Music had 150 million users in India 2023.
Streaming and Digital Consumption Interpretation
In the grand, cacophonous symphony of the modern music industry, we've managed to convince roughly the population of two Europes to pay for their tunes while simultaneously streaming them into a digital ocean trillions deep, proving that humanity's love for background noise is both infinite and, on average, worth about the price of a fancy coffee each month.
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