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 than in 2017, a 9.2% increase showing that users are exploring new music which is a good sign for the industry.
Album sales and song sales continued to decline, 18.2% and 28.8% respectively, and physical sales declined 15.3% but vinyl LP sales continued to grow with an increase of 11.9% over 2016.
US music consumption 2018 Highlights
- On-demand streams set a new record high of 534.6 Bn, up 42% over 2017. The previous record was set in 2017 with 376.9 Bn streams
- During the 4th quarter of 2018, subscription streams accounted for 85% of all on-demand (157.4 Bn)
- Subscription streams grew 50% during the 4th quarter of 2018
- Song consumption in 2018 reached a new high of 5.8 Bn, up 27% over 2017
- Vinyl album sales were up 12% in 2018 after seeing a 20% growth in 2017 over 2016. Vinyl album sales accounted for 13.7% of all physical album sales, up from 10% in 2017 and 8% in 2016
- For the second straight year, Drake took the three largest awards, Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, Scorpion, and Song of the Year, God’s Plan
US Music trends 2018
- Hip-Hop/Rap had the largest genre-share of total album consumption, 21.7% up from 17.5% in 2017. Pop and Rock followed with 20.1% and 14% respectively
- For the third year in a row, Hip-Hop/Rap was the top genre in terms of total song consumption, 24.7% up from 20.9% in 2017, with Pop second at 19% share followed by Rock at 12%
- For the past three years, Urban songs (Hip-Hop/Rap and R&B) were the most streamed songs among all genres. In 2018 they accounted for 36% of all on-demand streams, up from 32% in 2017. 19.3% were from Pop titles, up from 15.6% in 2017
- Streaming of titles in the Rock genre (including Rock, Alternative, Metal, Indie Rock, Punk) went from 19% in 2017 down to 11% in 2018. 11% were Latin songs
- Album titles from the Rock & Pop genres each accounted for 26% of all album sales in 2018. In 2017, they accounted for 29% and 19.7% respectively. In addition, 13% of all album sales were Country albums and 12% were Urban albums (Hip-Hop/ Rap and R&B)
- Three years ago more than 65% of all vinyl album sales fell into the Rock genre. In 2018, 42% of vinyl albums sold were from the Rock genre, down from 54% in 2017. 26% were Pop titles up from 14% in 2017 and 14.4% were Urban titles
- 92% of Hip-Hop/Rap’s total consumption is from on-demand streams while only 3.7% is from album sales
- Latin is the genre most dominated by streaming. 95% of total Latin consumption comes from on-demand streaming activity
The full report can be downloaded as a PDF here.
