Paid streaming in US hit 100 million subscriptions in 2024 with total revenue up 3% to $17.7 Bn according to figures released by the RIAA. The continued overall growth was amplified as vinyl continued a nearly 20-year surge.
Paid subscriptions continue to drive streaming growth
Streaming continued to account for the vast majority of recorded music revenues in 2024. Paid subscriptions, ad-supported services, digital and customized radio, social media platforms, digital fitness apps and others grew 4% to a record high $14.9 Bn in revenue. They collectively accounted for 84% of total revenues for the third year in a row.
Revenues from paid subscription services grew 5% to $11.7 Bn in 2024, accounting for 79% of streaming revenues, and nearly two-thirds of total revenues. Limited tier subscriptions (services limited by factors such as mobile access, catalogue availability, product features, or device restrictions) fell 2% to $1 Bn. Services like Amazon Prime, Pandora Plus, music licenses for streaming fitness services, and other subscriptions are included in this category.
The number of paid subscriptions to on-demand music services continued to grow and reach new highs in 2024. The average number of subscriptions for the year grew 3% to 100 million, compared with an average of 97 million for 2023. These figures exclude limited-tier services, and count multi-user plans as a single subscription. multi-user plans as a single subscription.
Music revenues from advertising supported on-demand services (such as YouTube, the ad-supported version of Spotify, Facebook, and others) were down 2% to $1.8 Bn. Ad supported services contributed 10% of total 2024 recorded music revenues.
Digital and customized radio music revenues grew 3% to $1.4 Bn in 2024. The category includes SoundExchange distributions for revenues from services like SiriusXM and Internet radio stations, as well as payments directly paid by similar services, included in this report as “other ad-supported streaming.” SoundExchange distributions grew 5% to $1.1 Bn, while other ad-supported streaming revenues of $306 million were down 4%.
Digital Downloads
Revenues from digitally downloaded music continued to decline in 2023, down 18% to $336 million. Both digital album sales and individual track sales were down double digits. Downloads accounted for just 2% of US recorded music revenues in 2024, down from a peak of 43% of revenues in 2012.
Vinyl LPs continue to outsell CDs
Revenues from physical music formats continued to grow. Total physical revenues of $2 Bn were up 5% versus the prior year. Revenues from vinyl records grew 7% to $1.4 Bn – the eighteenth consecutive year of growth – and accounted for nearly 3/4 physical format revenues. For the third year in a row, vinyl albums outsold CDs in units (44 million vs 33 million). Revenues from CDs grew 1% to $541 million in 2024.
The full report can be downloaded here.
