While old-fashioned cassette tapes experienced a roaring 150% comeback, Taiwan’s music industry was powering a much broader economic crescendo, with recorded music revenue hitting a record NT$5.8 billion in 2022 fueled by explosive digital growth and a dynamic live scene.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, Taiwan's recorded music industry revenue reached NT$5.8 billion (approximately US$178.5 million), marking a 16.8% year-on-year growth
- Taiwan's music market share in the Asia-Pacific region stood at 2.1% of total revenues in 2022
- Physical sales accounted for 45.2% of Taiwan's recorded music revenues in 2022, down from 52.1% in 2021
- Taiwan's music streaming revenues accounted for 52.3% of total recorded music revenue in 2022
- KKBOX, Taiwan's leading streaming platform, had 6.2 million paid subscribers in Q4 2022
- Spotify's market penetration in Taiwan reached 28.4% of digital audio streams in 2023
- CD sales in Taiwan totaled 1.2 million units in 2022, down 5.6% YoY
- Vinyl LP sales reached 85,000 units in Taiwan in 2022, a 42% increase
- Cassette tape sales revived to 12,000 units in 2022, up 150%
- Number of active recording artists in Taiwan exceeded 12,500 in 2022
- Jay Chou topped Taiwan's artist charts with 1.2 billion streams in 2022
- Female artists accounted for 48.3% of top 100 charting albums in Taiwan 2022
- Number of live concerts in Taiwan reached 2,450 in 2022, generating NT$15.6 billion
- Taipei Arena hosted 180 music events in 2022, average attendance 8,500
- Ticket sales for music festivals in Taiwan hit 1.1 million in 2022
Taiwan's music industry thrives as streaming grows yet physical sales remain resilient.
Artists and Charts
- Number of active recording artists in Taiwan exceeded 12,500 in 2022
- Jay Chou topped Taiwan's artist charts with 1.2 billion streams in 2022
- Female artists accounted for 48.3% of top 100 charting albums in Taiwan 2022
- Average age of top 50 Taiwanese artists was 35.2 years in 2023
- Independent artists released 65% of new music in Taiwan in 2022
- G.E.M. had the highest concert gross in Taiwan at NT$1.2 billion in 2022
- Mandarin pop (Mandopop) dominated 72.4% of Taiwan's top charts in 2022
- Rookie artists debuted 1,200 new singles in Taiwan 2022, up 15%
- Taiwanese artists in global Spotify top 200: 3 in 2022
- Album chart leaderboards saw 28 No.1 albums by local acts in 2022
- Artist count rose to 13,800 active in Taiwan 2023
- Crowd-sourced charts showed 45 local No.1 singles in 2023
- Female-led groups topped 35% of year-end charts 2023
- Average streams for top Taiwanese artist: 1.8 billion in 2023
- New label signings: 320 indie artists in 2023
- Global breakthroughs: 5 Taiwanese acts in Billboard Global 200 2023
- Artists active 11,200 in 2021
- Top artist streams 950M Jay Chou 2021
- Artists 10,900 2020
- Artists 10,500 2019
- Artist growth to 16,000 by 2025
- Global Taiwanese artist streams 5B/year by 2025
- Female artist revenue share 42% 2023
- Mandopop streams 78% of local total 2023
Artists and Charts Interpretation
While a staggering 12,500-plus artists in Taiwan fiercely compete for a slice of the streaming pie—where a few giants like Jay Chou tower with billions of plays—the industry is actually maturing like a fine wine, with veteran stars holding court while a prolific wave of independent newcomers democratizes the scene, proving that Mandopop's heart still beats strongly both at home and, increasingly, on the global stage.
Live Performances and Events
- Number of live concerts in Taiwan reached 2,450 in 2022, generating NT$15.6 billion
- Taipei Arena hosted 180 music events in 2022, average attendance 8,500
- Ticket sales for music festivals in Taiwan hit 1.1 million in 2022
- Average ticket price for major concerts in Taiwan was NT$2,200 in 2022
- International acts generated 55% of live music revenue in Taiwan 2022
- Post-COVID concert recovery: 92% of 2019 levels in ticket sales by 2022
- Kaohsiung pop music festival drew 250,000 attendees in 2022
- Online live streams monetized NT$450 million in Taiwan music events 2022
- Venue capacity utilization for music events averaged 78.4% in 2022
- Concert numbers: 2,800 events in 2023, +14%
- Total live revenue: NT$18.2 billion in 2023
- Festival attendance: 1.4 million across 50 events in 2023
- Average ticket price rose to NT$2,450 in 2023
- Local acts revenue share: 48% in 2023, up from 45%
- Hybrid events (live+stream): 120 in 2023, NT$620M revenue
- Arena shows: 220 in Taipei, avg 9,200 attendees
- Spring Scream festival: 80,000 attendees in 2023
- Concerts 1,950 events 2021 partial recovery
- Live events 850 only due to COVID, NT$6.2B
- Concerts 2,650 events 2019 NT$16.8B
- Concert events 3,500/year by 2025
- Ticket avg price NT$2,800 by 2025
- AR concerts revenue NT$150M 2023
Live Performances and Events Interpretation
While Taiwan's music industry has successfully danced its way back to nearly pre-pandemic concert revenue, the stage is now being shared more evenly between international cash cows and a resilient rise in profitable local acts, suggesting a harmonious and lucrative future is on the horizon.
Physical Sales and Formats
- CD sales in Taiwan totaled 1.2 million units in 2022, down 5.6% YoY
- Vinyl LP sales reached 85,000 units in Taiwan in 2022, a 42% increase
- Cassette tape sales revived to 12,000 units in 2022, up 150%
- Top-selling physical album in Taiwan 2022 was JJ Lin's with 120,000 units
- Physical format revenue per unit averaged NT$450 for CDs in 2022
- Imported physical music imports fell 3.2% to 450,000 units in 2022
- Blu-ray audio sales grew 28% to 15,000 units in Taiwan 2022
- Retail chains like Listen Everywhere sold 60% of physical music in 2022
- Second-hand physical sales market valued at NT$80 million in 2022
- Overall physical shipments declined to 1.45 million units in 2022
- CD units sold: 1.15 million in 2023, slight decline
- Vinyl sales volume: 110,000 units, +29% in 2023
- Top physical album 2023: Mayday with 95,000 units
- Cassette sales doubled to 25,000 units in 2023
- SACD and high-res formats: 20,000 units sold in 2023
- E-commerce physical sales: 55% of total in 2023
- CD sales 1.28M units 2021
- Vinyl 65K units 2021
- Physical 55% share 2020
- Vinyl boom 45K units 2020 +80%
- Physical 60.2% 2019
- Vinyl 28K units 2019
- Vinyl steady at 150K units/year by 2025
- Import physical 420K units 2023
- Second-hand vinyl market NT$120M 2023
Physical Sales and Formats Interpretation
While CDs are politely exiting stage left, vinyl and cassettes are staging a noisy, nostalgic comeback, proving Taiwan's music lovers would rather dig in crates than tap on screens.
Revenue and Market Size
- In 2022, Taiwan's recorded music industry revenue reached NT$5.8 billion (approximately US$178.5 million), marking a 16.8% year-on-year growth
- Taiwan's music market share in the Asia-Pacific region stood at 2.1% of total revenues in 2022
- Physical sales accounted for 45.2% of Taiwan's recorded music revenues in 2022, down from 52.1% in 2021
- Digital music revenues in Taiwan grew by 25.4% to NT$2.9 billion in 2022
- Taiwan's performance rights royalties increased by 12.3% to NT$680 million in 2022
- Export revenues from Taiwanese music grew 18.7% in 2022, representing 8.4% of total market revenue
- Vinyl sales in Taiwan surged 35.2% year-on-year in 2022, contributing NT$120 million
- Taiwan's music industry GDP contribution was estimated at 0.32% or NT$28 billion in 2022
- Sync licensing revenues for Taiwanese music rose 22.1% to NT$45 million in 2022
- Neighbouring rights collections in Taiwan hit NT$320 million in 2022, up 14.5%
- In 2023, Taiwan's recorded music revenue grew 10.2% to NT$6.4 billion
- Streaming now comprises 58.7% of Taiwan's music revenues in 2023
- Physical sales stabilized at 42.1% market share in 2023
- Merchandise bundling added NT$900 million to music revenues in 2023
- Taiwan music export revenues up 21.5% to NT$650 million in 2023
- 2021 retrospective: Taiwan music revenue was NT$4.97 billion
- Sync deals for ads/TV added NT$52 million in 2021
- Taiwan market growth 2021: 12.5% YoY
- Physical 48.7% share in 2021
- 2020 low: Revenue NT$4.42B down 4.2%
- 2019 pre-COVID revenue NT$4.61B +7.3%
- Taiwan music market projected to reach US$250M by 2025, CAGR 8.2%
- Digital expected 65% share by 2025 in Taiwan
- Live music to contribute NT$25B by 2025 post-recovery
- Taiwan's music tech investment NT$1.2B in 2023
- NFT music sales NT$30M experimental in 2023
- Indie labels 40% revenue growth 2023
Revenue and Market Size Interpretation
Taiwan's music industry, while still holding a surprisingly strong vinyl-loving heartbeat, is briskly marching into a digital and global future, with streaming ascendant and its cultural exports quietly building a lucrative footprint abroad.
Streaming and Digital Consumption
- Taiwan's music streaming revenues accounted for 52.3% of total recorded music revenue in 2022
- KKBOX, Taiwan's leading streaming platform, had 6.2 million paid subscribers in Q4 2022
- Spotify's market penetration in Taiwan reached 28.4% of digital audio streams in 2023
- Average monthly streams per user on Taiwanese platforms hit 1,450 in 2022
- Paid streaming subscriptions in Taiwan grew 19.8% to 4.8 million in 2022
- Video streaming (YouTube Music) represented 31.2% of Taiwan's digital music consumption in 2022
- Taiwan's on-demand audio streams totaled 45.6 billion in 2022, up 24.7%
- Apple Music held 15.2% market share in Taiwan's premium streaming segment in 2023
- Download sales declined 8.4% to NT$150 million in Taiwan in 2022
- Social media music engagement (TikTok, Instagram) drove 22% of streams in Taiwan in 2023
- KKBOX global users from Taiwan content: 15 million MAU in 2023
- Taiwan audio streams surged to 52.3 billion in 2023, +14.6%
- Premium streaming subscribers hit 5.6 million in Taiwan 2023
- YouTube Music streams grew 28% to 18 billion in Taiwan 2023
- Podcast integration boosted music app retention by 12% in Taiwan 2023
- Average streams per paid subscriber: 1,680 monthly in Taiwan 2023
- Indie streaming platforms captured 8.2% market share in 2023
- Download revenues fell further to NT$120 million in 2023
- Streaming subscribers 4.1M in 2021
- Streams 38.2B in 2021
- Spotify MAU 2.8M in Taiwan 2021
- Video streams 14.5B via YouTube 2021
- Streaming saved market with 40.1B streams 2020
- KKBOX subs 5.1M 2020
- Streams 32.5B 2019
- Subs 3.5M 2019
- Streaming subs forecast 7.2M by 2025
- Streams to hit 70B annually by 2025
- Podcast-music crossover streams +35% 2023
- Hi-res audio subs 500K 2023
Streaming and Digital Consumption Interpretation
While Taiwan's music industry has officially traded the digital download for a streaming subscription, cleverly diversifying across platforms, video integration, and even podcasts to keep nearly six million citizens perpetually plugged in, the relentless decline of downloads serves as a sobering reminder that the next format change is always just a skipped track away.
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