Canadian music consumption grew 9.2% in 2021 due to continued growth in audio streaming, a milestone year for vinyl and a changing of the guard for ‘Catalogue vs. Current music’ consumption according to MRC Data. In their Year End Report Canada 2021 they highlight a number of changed behaviours accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Overall consumption grew 9.2% year-on-year (YOY) in 2021, thanks to a 12.6% increase in on-demand audio streaming. Part of that lift is due to new albums from Adele, Drake, Olivia Rodrigo, Taylor Swift and the controversial Morgan Wallen – but those releases only tell half the story of music listening in 2021. For the first time since MRC Data began tracking streaming music in 2015, audio streaming of Current music (music released less than 18 months ago) actually declined. This led to a significant increase in Catalogue’s share of the audio on-demand streaming universe with 69% in 2021 vs 64% in 2020, as consumers reconnected with old favourites or discovered them for the first time through platforms like TikTok.
Vintage music formats took on new relevance in 2021 too, as vinyl album sales posted its highest one year total in MRC Data’s history (since 1995). Vinyl album volume increased 21.7% YOY and finished the year with 1.1 million units, surpassing the previous high in 2019.
Globally, red-hot genres like Afro-Pop and K-Pop continued to crossover to Canada and other territories in an even bigger way, led by hits from artists like Wizkid, CKay, BTS and BLACKPINK’s Lisa and Rosé. Many international territories continued ramping up their adoption of streaming services, too, led by Japan, Colombia, Poland, Turkey and the UK.
Other key metrics from the report
| 2020 | 2021 | % change | |
| Global On-demand Audio Song Streams | 2.17 Tn | 2.74 Tn | +26.3 |
| Canada On-demand Song Streaming | 97.3 Bn | 107.6 Bn | +10.6 |
| Global Digital Song Sales | 427.7 m | 365.2 m | -12.3 |
| Canada Total Album Consumption | 76.7 m | 83.8 m | +9.2 |
| Canada Total Physical Album Sales | 3.793 m | 3.797 m | +0.1 |
The complete 47pp report can be downloaded for free by signing up to the MRC Data mailing list here.
