Streaming accounted for nearly 80 percent of American music revenue in 2019 according to the Recording Industry Association of America’s just-released full-year music report.
The RIAA has reported that streaming represented 79 percent ($8.8 billion) of American music revenue in 2019, compared to 75 percent the year before. And crucially, more of those were paid subscribers. There were 60.4 million paying customers for services like Apple Music and Spotify, representing 61 percent ($6.8 billion) of the entire industry’s revenue a big step up from 46.9 million subscribers and 55 percent in 2018.
As a whole, Americans streamed some 1.5 trillion songs in 2019.
It’s fascinating to see how much the music industry and listening habits have changed in just one decade. In 2009, streaming accounted for just five percent of the US music industry’s revenue while physical media was responsible for 59 percent of the pie. By 2019, those numbers shifted dramatically.
The RIAA is not convinced creators are getting an “appropriate share” from many services (though labels themselves have been accused of depriving artists). And once again, the association believes tech companies aren’t doing enough to prevent stream ripping and other instances of piracy. While the industry is facing a brighter future than it did during the past couple of decades, the RIAA still feels as if it’s being held back.
