Global recorded music revenues grew 10.2% in 2023 driven largely by growth in paid subscription streaming according to IFPI, the organisation that represents the recorded music industry worldwide. Figures released recently in IFPI’s Global Music Report show total revenues for 2023 were US$28.6 Bn.
Subscription streaming revenues alone grew by 11.2% and made up almost half (48.9%) of the global market. In 2023 the number of paid subscriptions to music streaming services passed 500 million for the first time and there are now more than 667 million users of paid subscription accounts, with household penetration varying greatly by country. There was strong growth in other formats too with a double-digit percentage increase in physical revenues (up by 13.4%) and gains in income from performance rights (up by 9.5%). This is the third consecutive year in which both digital and physical revenues have increased simultaneously.
There was a positive story of growth across the globe as the work and investment from record companies contributed to every region experiencing revenue growth in 2023. Five of the world’s seven regions posted double-digit percentage gains.
John Nolan, IFPI’s Chief Financial Officer and Interim Joint Head of IFPI said, “For the third year in succession, both physical and digital formats grew with a strong rise in the users of paid streaming subscribers – as well as price increases – contributing significantly to total revenue growth.”
Growth in the world’s regions
- USA & Canada +7.4% – Representing the greatest share of global recorded music revenues (40.9%), there was a gain of 7.4% in 2023 in the USA and Canada. Revenues grew at a faster rate than in 2022 (+5.1%). Revenues from the USA, the world’s single largest recorded music market, rose by 7.2%. In Canada, another top 10 market, revenues jumped by 12.2%.
- Europe +8.9% – Representing more than a quarter of global revenues (28.1%) after revenue growth of 8.9%, Europe remained the second largest region in the world for recorded music revenues in 2023. The region’s three biggest markets all recorded healthy growth: the UK (+8.1%), Germany (+7.0%), and France (+4.4%).
- Asia +14.9% – The third largest region globally, revenues in Asia rose by 14.9% in 2023, driven by strong gains in physical and digital revenues, and continuing a multi-year upward trajectory. The two largest Asian markets saw healthy growth: revenues from Japan, the world’s second biggest market, were up by 7.6% and there was steep growth in China (the fifth largest market) of 25.9%, the fastest rate of increase in any top 10 market.
- Latin America +19.4% – In the fourteenth consecutive year of revenue growth, recorded music revenues in Latin America rose steeply in 2023 by 19.4%, once again outpacing the global growth rate. There were double-digit percentage climbs in revenues in Brazil (+13.4%) and Mexico (+18.2%), the region’s largest markets. Streaming was the key driver and made up 86.3% of the region’s revenues.
- Australasia +10.8% – Australasia posted double-digit percentage growth of 10.8% in 2023, an increase on the 8.3% rise in 2022 and boosted by an increase in subscription streaming revenues (+13.5%). Revenue growth accelerated in Australia, a global top 10 market, up by 11.3%. In New Zealand, revenues increased by 8.4%.
- Middle East & North Africa +14.4% – Streaming revenues dominated once more in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) with a 98.4% share of the market in that region. Total MENA revenues rose by 14.4% in 2023, exceeding the global growth rate.
- Sub-Saharan Africa +24.7% – Sub-Saharan Africa once again had the fastest growth of any region and was the only one to surpass 20% growth: revenues climbed by 24.7%, fuelled by gains in paid streaming revenues (+24.5%). South Africa remained the largest market in the region, contributing 77.0% of regional revenues after growth of 19.9%.
A copy of the Global Music Report 2024 – State of the Industry report (English language) can be freely downloaded here.
