Report: Licensed Audio Streaming Up 8%

International Federation of the Phonographic Industry has released 'Connecting with Music', the 2017 Music Consumer Insight Report. Based on research conducted by Ipsos Connect, the report examines the ways in which fans are engaging with recorded music across 13 of the world's leading music markets.

Report highlights:

• Fans worldwide are increasingly engaged with audio streaming:Globally, 45% are listening through a licensed audio streaming service (up from 37% in 2016). 90% of paid audio streamers listen to music using a smartphone.
• Young fans remain highly engaged with music despite an abundance of competing media: 13–15 year-olds are highly engaged with music, with 85% using streaming services.
• The 'Value Gap' persists: User upload video services, such as YouTube, account for the majority of on-demand streaming time yet do not return fair value to the music community. 85% of YouTube visitors use the site for music each month and 76% of YouTube visitors use it for music already known to them.
• Copyright infringement remains a significant issue, with stream ripping the top source: 40% of consumers access unlicensed music, including 35% who stream rip music – 53% among 16-24 year-olds.

Frances Moore, CEO of IFPI, commented:

"This report shows some amazing trends defining this new era, how fans around the world are enjoying recorded music and connecting with the artists they love in so many ways.

"The increasingly digital global music environment did not just happen. It requires an enormous amount of work from record companies and their partners to license over 40 million tracks to hundreds of digital services around the world.

"The report also highlights the ongoing challenges for the industry. It provides further evidence of the Value Gap – the mismatch between the value that user upload services, such as YouTube, extract from music and the revenue returned to those who invest in and create it. The global music community is united in urging policy makers to act to address this."

Read the full report here