Streaming on a phone
News

US recorded music revenues hit $9.8 Bn in 2018

US recorded music revenues hit $9.8 Bn in 2018 up 12% on the previous year according to the RIAA, the US recorded music industry association. For the third year in a row growth was driven primarily by increased revenues from paid subscription services from Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon and others, achieving more than 50 million subscriptions in the US. Revenue growth from streaming formats continued to be offset by decreases from both digital downloads […]

Qobuz on tablet, desktop and mobile platforms
News

Qobuz finally launches in US

Qobuz finally launches in US after several false starts during the second half of 2018. Streaming subscriptions and downloads are available in MP3, CD and HiRes at varying price points to suit most budgets and audio aspirations. The HiRes Studio subscription at $24.99/month represents excellent value for audiophiles and for those who still prefer some of their music as downloads, then the streamer’s Sublime+ combined streaming and download package at $299.99/year is certainly worth a […]

BuzzAngle 2018 Year End Report
News

US music consumption grew 16.2% in 2018

US music consumption grew 16.2% in 2018 according to BuzzAngle Music, the US chart and music market analyst. In its 2018 Year-End Report, it reported that on-demand audio stream consumption continued to fuel overall growth, increasing 41.8% to 534.6 Bn streams, up from 376.9 Bn streams last year. In the 4th quarter of the year 85% of all audio streams were subscription based. The number of unique titles streamed in 2018 totalled 3 million more […]

Music notes and flag of USA
News

US music sales up on continued streaming growth

Latest figures from the US recorded music industry association, the RIAA, show continued growth in the first half of 2018 with retail sales up 10% to $4.6 billion. Streaming continued to be the engine for growth increasing 28% year on year to $3.4 billion and representing 75% of all revenues. Physical sales and downloads continued to decline with CD unit sales dropping a whopping 46.9% from 35 million to 18.6 million units. Vinyl sales continued […]