Subscription audio streaming revenues increased by 10.3% to US$12.7 billion and there were 589 million users of paid subscription accounts at the end of 2022. Total streaming (including both paid subscription and advertising-supported) grew by 11.5% to reach US$17.5 billion, or 67.0% of total global recorded music revenues. There was growth in other areas too with physical revenues remaining resilient (+4.0%); performance rights revenue increasing by 8.6% and returning to pre-pandemic levels; and synchronisation income climbing by 22.3%.
Commenting on the release of the Global Music Report, IFPI Chief Executive Frances Moore, said:
“This year’s report tells the continued story of record companies’ commitment to their core mission – working with artists to help them achieve their greatest creative and commercial potential over the course of a career. That requires an artist-label partnership that constantly evolves and innovates so that it can capitalise on opportunities in more business areas and more parts of the world.
“Record companies’ investment and innovation has helped make music even more globally interconnected than ever, building out local teams around the world, and working with artists from a growing variety of music scenes. This is driving music’s development whilst enabling fans to seize the expanding opportunities to embrace and celebrate their own local artists and culture.
“However, as the opportunities for music continue to expand, so too do the areas in which record companies must work to ensure that the value of the music artists are creating is recognised and returned. This challenge is becoming increasingly complex as a greater number of actors seek to benefit from music whilst playing no part in investing in and developing it.”
Growth in the world’s regions:
Recorded music revenues grew in every region around the world in 2022:
- Asia grew by 15.4% with its largest market, Japan, seeing growth of 5.4% whilst the second largest market, China, grew by more than 20% (28.4%), becoming a global top five market for the first time. In a continuing trend, Asia also accounted for almost half of global physical revenues (49.8%).
- Australasia experienced growth of 8.1%, an increase on the prior year’s growth rate of +4.7%. Australia (+8.1%) remained a top 10 market globally and New Zealand saw a rise in streaming revenues push the overall market to growth of 8.0%.
- Revenues in Europe, the second-largest recorded music region in the world, grew by 7.5%, with the region’s three biggest markets all posting gains: UK (+5.4%), Germany (+2.2%) and France (+7.7%).
- Latin America saw gains of 25.9%, maintaining more than 10 years of regional increases. Every market in the region posted double-digit growth.
- Middle East and North Africa – previously the fastest growing market in 2021, MENA had third highest growth rate in 2022, seeing increase of 23.8%, and representing the highest share for streaming of any region globally (95.5%).
- Sub-Saharan Africa – becoming the fastest growing region in 2022 with more than 30% growth (34.7%), SSA was driven largely by a significant boost to revenues in the region’s largest market, South Africa (+31.4%).
- The USA & Canada region – the world’s largest in revenue terms – grew by 5.0% in 2022; The world’s single biggest market, the USA, grew by 4.8% a – exceeding US$10 billion for the first time – and Canadian recorded music revenues increased by 8.1%.
Download the free Global Music Report 2023 – State of the Industry report (English language) here
IFPI Global Music Report 2022: Full Report – with Data and Analysis: Purchase the full data and analysis report here
Global recorded music revenues grow 7.4%
The global recorded music market grew by 7.4% in 2020, the sixth consecutive year of growth, according to IFPI, the organisation that represents the recorded music industry worldwide. Figures released today in IFPI’s Global Music Report show total revenues for 2020 were US$21.6 billion.
Growth was driven by streaming, especially by paid subscription streaming revenues, which increased by 18.5%. There were 443 million users of paid subscription accounts at the end of 2020. Total streaming (including both paid subscription and advertising-supported) grew 19.9% and reached $13.4 billion, or 62.1% of total global recorded music revenues. The growth in streaming revenues more than offset the decline in other formats’ revenues, including physical revenues which declined 4.7%; and revenues from performance rights which declined 10.1% – largely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The work and investment of record companies has helped lay the foundations for a predominantly digital industry that proved its resilience against the extraordinary circumstances of 2020. In a challenging year, record companies have worked alongside their artist partners to support them in creating and recording music and the whole sector has continued to drive innovations in the ways fans can experience music around the world.
IFPI Chief Executive Frances Moore, said: “As the world contends with the COVID-19 pandemic, we are reminded of the enduring power of music to console, heal and lift our spirits.
“Some things are timeless, like the power of a great song or the connection between artists and fans. But some things have changed. With so much of the world in lockdown and live music shut down, in nearly every corner of the globe most fans enjoyed music via streaming.
“Fuelled by record companies’ ongoing investment in artists and their careers, along with innovative efforts to help artists bring music to fans in new ways, recorded music revenues grew globally for the sixth consecutive year, driven by subscription streaming. As record companies continue to expand their geographical footprint and cultural reach, music has become more globally connected today, than ever before and this growth has spread across all regions around the globe.
“With many impacted by the pandemic, and concerned with growing social injustices, record companies have worked hard to make a meaningful, lasting contribution to the world we want to live in.”
Growth in all the world’s regions
Recorded music revenues grew in every region around the world in 2020, including:
- Latin America maintained its position as the fastest-growing region globally (15.9%) as streaming revenues grew by 30.2% and accounted for 84.1% of the region’s total revenues.
- Asia grew 9.5% and digital revenues surpassed a 50% share of the region’s total revenues, for the first time. Excluding Japan (which saw a decline of 2.1% in revenue), Asia would have been the fastest-growing region, with exceptional growth of 29.9%
- Featured as a region in the report for the first time, recorded music revenues in the Africa & Middle East region increased by 8.4%, driven primarily by the Middle East & North Africa region (37.8%). Streaming dominated, with revenues up 36.4%.
- Revenues in Europe, the second-largest recorded music region in the world, grew by 3.5% as strong streaming growth of 20.7% offset declines in all other consumption formats.
- The US & Canada region grew 7.4% in 2020. The US market grew by 7.3% and Canadian recorded music revenues grew by 8.1%.
Visit the IFPI Global Music Report 2021 Microsite here for additional information and to download the free State of the Industry Report (English language).
Global Music Report 2021: Full Report – with Data and Analysis: Purchase the full data and analysis report here.
For further information please contact: