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Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Formats For Music Consumption Continue to Change


by Kirt Snibbe

The music business is doing well, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. The most current figures are for 2022 and show the most revenue in its history, $15.9 billion.

In 2023, 78% of adults (up from 68% in 2022) used a music streaming service of some kind. According to Global Web Index, Gen Z leads the way with the highest average streaming times, accessing favorite tracks across multiple platforms.Streaming platforms are web-based services that allow users to listen to high-definition music without having to download and store large files.

In 2022 the paid subscription format accounted for 57.8% of total music revenues, with $9.2 billion of a $15.9 billion total.

Vinyl resurgence?

In the 1970s vinyl sales accounted for 66% of music format revenues. But by the 1990s sales dipped to less than 10 million units and 0.1% of market share.

In 2022, vinyl LP sales were $1.2 billion, 7.7% of total revenue (up from 6.9% in 2021).

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The basics of music streaming were pioneered in 2001 by peer-to-peer file sharing system Napster. Apple’s iTunes followed a couple of years later. Spotify, in an attempt to combat music piracy, was founded in 2006 by Swedish duo Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon.

Who are the streamers?

Spotify’s annual Culture Next Trends Report in 2023 said that in the first half of that year, Gen Z listened to over 560 billion songs and more than 3 billion podcast episodes — a 76% increase from the previous year, making it the fastest-growing audience in music and podcast listening. Also, 67% use podcasts and music to cope with stress and anxiety, and 59% believe “life was better before social media.”

YouTube has its own Culture & Trends report on Gen Z, both as YouTubers and viewers. Among its findings in 2022: 85% of Gen Z posted video content online, and 65% are more interested in content “that’s personally relevant to them” rather than simply “the content that lots of other people talk about.”

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