US Archives

Over 1000 HiRes albums are released each month in US

07/05/2019

Over 1000 HiRes albums are released each month in US according to new data compiled by the RIAA, the US recording industry association. More than 33,500 albums representing nearly 400,000 tracks are currently available in ‘Studio Quality’ formats to stream or download in the US. These figures represent a 29% increase over a year ago, as major labels are now releasing some 1,000 albums per month in Studio Quality formats. The RIAA defines Studio Quality […]

CIRP – Spotify premium membership increases

Spotify increases US Premium subscribers by 3 million

24/04/2019

Spotify increases US Premium subscribers by 3 million in the first quarter of 2019 according to investment research company Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, LLC (CIRP). As at 31st March 2019, CIRP estimates that in the US, 37% of Spotify users have a Spotify Premium subscription. “We’ve now tracked Spotify for a full year, and the user base continues to grow steadily in the US” said Josh Lowitz, Partner and Co-Founder of CIRP. “In the most […]

Streaming makes up 93% of US Latin music revenue

29/03/2019

Streaming makes up 93% of US Latin music revenues in 2018 according to the RIAA, the US recording industry association. Latin music’s transformation from a physical-based business to a streaming-driven one is even faster than the overall US music market’s turnaround. Revenues from streaming now comprise 93% of the total Latin market, with a paid subscription service increase of 50% fuelling most of the growth. The US Latin music business grew 18% in 2018 to […]

US recorded music revenues hit $9.8 Bn in 2018

09/03/2019

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

Qobuz finally launches in US

16/02/2019

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 […]

US music consumption grew 16.2% in 2018

10/01/2019

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 […]

US music sales up on continued streaming growth

05/10/2018

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 […]