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Streaming services play a big part in the music industry and it may be bigger than any of us could have imagined. In a statement from RIAA chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier, it was revealed that streaming services accounted for nearly 80 percent of revenue in the music industry in 2019.
Last year, Glazier says revenues grew by 13 percent to $11.1 billion in 2019, at estimated retail value. Total revenues from streaming grew 20 percent to $8.8 billion, accounting for nearly 80% of all recorded music revenues.
Streaming is 👑! Music 🎵 is a digital business with nearly 80% of 2019 U.S. revenues derived from streaming sources. #RIAAMusicData https://t.co/GaqmwKpFxH pic.twitter.com/fDIMQziLT0
— RIAA (@RIAA) February 25, 2020
“Today’s report reflects the prospect of a future in which creators have a path forward,” Glazier said in a statement. “But it also reveals how much farther we must go to assure a healthy music community in which all music is valued and creators are fairly compensated. We still have not realized the full value of music on all digital services.
“Music is by far the biggest draw to tech platforms, gaining views and listens that generate enormous revenues for distributors, but in many cases this happens without an appropriate share for creators. Our technology partners also need to commit themselves to protecting and promoting artists’ work by doing more to stop stream-ripping and other forms of piracy. That requires the platforms to work more productively with the music community as partners to stop theft and respect the true value of music.”
With the strong data, the RIAA plans to keep streaming as a focus as they look to achieve long-term sustainable success that would still give musicians and artists the compensation and protection from stream-ripping and piracy that they deserve.
You can see a full breakdown of the data here.
