Contents
- Recorded music revenue statistics: Global industry revenue and growth through 2025
- Recorded music revenue statistics: Streaming revenue, subscriptions, and format shares
- Recorded music revenue statistics: Physical sales, vinyl, and CDs
- Recorded music revenue statistics: Regional market revenue and growth
- U.S. recorded music revenue statistics: Streaming and subscription categories
- U.S. recorded music revenue statistics: Downloads, physical formats, and shipment value
- Sources
Recorded music revenue statistics: Global industry revenue and growth through 2025
Global recorded music revenues reached US$31.7 billion in 2025, an all-time high reported by IFPI. The report put growth for that year at 6.4%, following 4.7% growth in 2024. These figures describe annual industry revenue and its year-over-year rate of change; they are separate measures. Revenue can reach a record even when the growth rate is lower than in a previous year. Source: IFPI Global Music Report 2026, p. 6
The same 2026 report’s historical chart places the preceding years in context. It plots global recorded music industry revenue in US$ billions, with the following selected annual observations:
| Year | Global revenue (US$ billions) |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 17.4 |
| 2019 | 18.7 |
| 2020 | 20.0 |
| 2021 | 23.7 |
| 2022 | 25.8 |
| 2023 | 28.4 |
| 2024 | 29.7 |
Source: IFPI Global Music Report 2026, p. 4, historical revenue chart
This series shows the levels reported by that chart, rather than a new calculation of annual growth. The 2026 report’s chart gives 2024 as US$29.7 billion. IFPI’s 2025 report gives a different 2024 figure, US$29.6 billion; the 2026 historical series is used here consistently for the comparison above. The two printed amounts should not be treated as interchangeable without regard to report vintage. Sources: IFPI Global Music Report 2026, p. 4; IFPI Global Music Report 2025
For readers comparing the figures, the scope matters: these are global industry revenues, in nominal US dollars, for calendar years. The report’s overview calls 2025 revenue an all-time high, while the historical chart supplies rounded annual values. The figures support a description of rising revenue across the years shown, but the chart alone does not explain why revenue changed or how the industry’s prices, listening patterns, or participants contributed.
Recorded music revenue statistics: Streaming revenue, subscriptions, and format shares
Streaming was the largest format category in the global 2025 revenue-share chart, at 69.6% of recorded music revenue. Subscription streaming accounted for 52.4% of the total, while ad-supported streaming accounted for 17.1%. Those are shares of total global recorded music industry revenue, not shares of listeners or accounts. Source: IFPI Global Music Report 2026, p. 6, global revenue share by format
| Global format measure, 2025 | Reported figure | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Streaming | 69.6% | Share of global recorded music revenue |
| Subscription streaming | 52.4% | Share of global recorded music revenue |
| Ad-supported streaming | 17.1% | Share of global recorded music revenue |
Source: IFPI Global Music Report 2026, p. 6
IFPI also reports that global streaming revenues exceeded US$22 billion in 2025, crossing that threshold for the first time. Streaming revenue grew 7.7% during the year and contributed US$1.6 billion in revenue growth, as stated in the report. Within streaming, subscription revenue growth was 8.8%; combined ad-supported streaming formats grew 4.3%. These are rates for global recorded music revenue categories, while the dollar amount is the report’s stated contribution to growth. Source: IFPI Global Music Report 2026, pp. 6, 8
The prior-year comparison available here is for subscription streaming: IFPI’s 2025 report says global subscription streaming revenue increased 9.5% in 2024. That is the growth rate reported in the 2025 report for 2024; it should not be confused with the 8.8% rate for 2025 in the 2026 report. The periods and report vintages are explicit, which makes the comparison useful without implying that revenue share and growth rate are the same kind of statistic. Sources: IFPI Global Music Report 2025, p. 8; IFPI Global Music Report 2026, p. 8
Recorded music revenue statistics: Physical sales, vinyl, and CDs
Physical formats made up 16.6% of global recorded music revenue in 2025. IFPI separately reports that global physical revenue amounted to US$5.3 billion that year, grew 8.0%, and added US$390 million in revenue growth. The share, total revenue, annual growth rate, and contribution to growth are distinct measures; each is reported here on its own terms. Sources: IFPI Global Music Report 2026, pp. 6, 8
Vinyl revenue increased 13.7% in 2025, and CD revenue increased 3.7%. Music video revenue in the physical-format discussion was up 10.8%. These are reported year-over-year revenue changes for the stated format categories. They do not establish unit sales or the number of records, CDs, or videos sold. Source: IFPI Global Music Report 2026, p. 8
The report’s 2024 comparison shows that physical revenue declined 3.1% that year, while vinyl revenue grew 4.6%. These figures come from IFPI’s 2025 report and describe 2024; the 2025 results above come from the 2026 report. The figures show that a format’s revenue can move differently from the broader physical category in a given year, as the 2024 vinyl and overall physical rates illustrate. They do not, by themselves, identify the reasons for those changes. Sources: IFPI Global Music Report 2025, p. 8; IFPI Global Music Report 2026, p. 8
Recorded music revenue statistics: Regional market revenue and growth
Regional results show different growth rates and market shares in 2025. Latin America was the fastest-growing region, with recorded music revenue growth of 17.1%. Streaming accounted for 88.1% of recorded music revenue there. The regional streaming share describes the mix of revenue, while 17.1% describes the change in revenue over the year. Source: IFPI Global Music Report 2026, p. 28
Within Latin America, Brazil’s recorded music revenue grew 14.1%, and Mexico’s increased 13.3%. Those country growth rates are reported alongside the region’s broader result, but they are country-level measures, not the regional growth rate itself. Source: IFPI Global Music Report 2026, p. 28
Europe’s recorded music revenues grew 5.6% in 2025. USA and Canada held a 38.7% share of global revenues and recorded regional revenue growth of 3.5%. The country figures within that regional passage differ: the United States, identified by IFPI as the world’s single largest recorded music market, grew 3.3%, while Canada grew 5.6%. Source: IFPI Global Music Report 2026, p. 28
| Region or market | 2025 reported measure |
|---|---|
| Latin America | Revenue growth: 17.1% |
| Brazil | Revenue growth: 14.1% |
| Mexico | Revenue growth: 13.3% |
| Europe | Revenue growth: 5.6% |
| USA and Canada | 38.7% of global revenue; regional growth: 3.5% |
| United States | Revenue growth: 3.3% |
| Canada | Revenue growth: 5.6% |
Source: IFPI Global Music Report 2026, p. 28
These figures combine market growth and, for USA and Canada, share of global revenue. A growth rate does not communicate a market’s absolute revenue size, and a global share does not indicate its annual growth. The supplied regional observations do not provide a revenue total for each region, so no regional dollar values are inferred here.
U.S. recorded music revenue statistics: Streaming and subscription categories
RIAA reports 2024 U.S. estimated retail dollar values in millions, net after returns. In this measure, retail value is based on shipments at recommended or estimated list price; for formats without a retail-value equivalent, wholesale value is used. RIAA says streaming-related services collectively accounted for 84% of total U.S. recorded music revenues for the third year in a row. Sources: RIAA 2024 Year-End Revenue Report, p. 1; RIAA 2024 Year-End Revenue Statistics, p. 3
| U.S. streaming or subscription category, 2024 | Estimated retail value (US$ millions) |
|---|---|
| Total streaming revenues | 14,877.7 |
| Paid subscription | 10,687.0 |
| Limited-tier paid subscription | 998.3 |
| On-demand streaming, ad-supported | 1,831.9 |
| Other ad-supported streaming | 306.5 |
| SoundExchange distributions | 1,054.0 |
Source: RIAA 2024 Year-End Revenue Statistics, p. 3; values are net after returns
The paid subscription line is a revenue category, and the table separately reports limited-tier paid subscription and ad-supported categories. RIAA’s table note says subscription volume excludes limited-tier services; its volume measure is an annual average, and multi-user plans count as 1 subscription. The reported average number of U.S. paid music subscriptions was 100.0 million in 2024. That count should be kept distinct from revenue and from a count of individual users. Source: RIAA 2024 Year-End Revenue Statistics, p. 3
For on-demand ad-supported streaming, RIAA reports US$1,831.9 million in 2024 and a 1.8% decline from 2023. The dollar figure is estimated retail value in millions, net after returns; the percentage is the reported change from the preceding year. Source: RIAA 2024 Year-End Revenue Statistics, p. 3
U.S. recorded music revenue statistics: Downloads, physical formats, and shipment value
RIAA’s 2024 total digital value was US$15,247.4 million, and total digital and physical recorded-music value was US$17,674.6 million. Both are estimated retail dollar values in millions, net after returns. RIAA reports digital as 88% and physical as 12% of the shipments’ value mix in its total digital and physical calculation; synchronization royalties are excluded from that mix calculation. Source: RIAA 2024 Year-End Revenue Statistics, p. 3
Permanent download categories totaled US$369.7 million in 2024. Within that section, download albums were US$166.7 million, download singles were US$162.4 million, and ringtones and ringbacks were US$5.6 million. These are the printed category values, not a reconstructed total from the listed rows. Source: RIAA 2024 Year-End Revenue Statistics, p. 3
RIAA also reports US$412.6 million for synchronization royalties in 2024. Its footnote describes this category as fees and royalties from synchronization of sound recordings with other media. It is a separate reported category and should not be folded into the download figures. Source: RIAA 2024 Year-End Revenue Statistics, p. 3
Together, the U.S. figures illustrate why a revenue report’s labels and valuation basis matter. The total value, digital value, streaming revenue, downloads, and synchronization royalties are not identical categories. They are reported for calendar year 2024 in estimated retail dollars, in millions, net after returns, subject to RIAA’s stated valuation conventions. Shipment value mix is a share of value, not a share of units shipped. Source: RIAA 2024 Year-End Revenue Statistics, p. 3