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New data from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) highlights the continued growth of streaming and resurgence of vinyl in the music industry. According to the RIAA, music revenue in the United States hit a record high of $15.9 billion in 2022, marking six years of consecutive growth for the industry.
Streaming accounted for the majority of that revenue, making up 84% of total music revenue. Physical sales accounted for 11%, digital downloads 3%, and synchronization royalties 2%.
Within physical sales, vinyl records saw a remarkable resurgence, outselling CDs in units for the first time in decades. Vinyl revenues grew 17% to $1.2 billion, marking the sixteenth consecutive year of growth, while CD revenues fell 18% to $483 million.
The breakdown of streaming revenue was as follows: paid subscription services made up $10.2 billion (up 8% year-over-year), limited-tier subscriptions contributed $1.1 billion (up 18% year-over-year), and ad-supported streaming generated $108 billion (up 6% year-over-year).
The average number of streaming subscriptions for the year grew 10% to 92 million, compared with an average of 84 million for 2021.
Digital downloads continued their decline, with revenues down 20% to $495 million, accounting for just 3% of U.S. recorded music revenues. This represents a significant drop from a peak of 43% of revenues in 2012.
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The RIAA data is always intriguing, and it comes as no surprise that streaming continues to grow in popularity. However, it remains to be seen how Apple Music’s recent price increase will impact total streaming revenue for the industry.
While neither the RIAA nor Apple has released subscriber numbers for individual services, the last official update for Apple Music was in June 2019, when it hit 60 million paying subscribers.
