Streaming Accounted for Nearly 80 Percent of All U.S. Recorded Music Revenue in 2019

There’s a lot to pore over in the RIAA‘s newly released revenue report, including the fact that streaming is driving continued growth for the U.S. recorded music industry.

In a statement announcing the revenue report for 2019, RIAA chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier noted that this growth isn’t simply happening on its own, but is instead the result of great music linking with record companies who are keeping a “digital-first” business model at the forefront of their work.

“Today’s report reflects the prospect of a future in which creators have a path forward,” Glazier said. “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.”

Total revenues from streaming jumped 20 percent to $8.8 billion in 2019, accounting for 79.5 percent of all recorded music revenues. And for the first time since 2006, total U.S. recorded music revenues were found to be above the $11 billion mark. That $11.1 billion in total revenue represents a 13 percent increase from the $9.8 billion hit back in 2018.

The streaming chunk of $8.8 billion for 2019 is, quite impressively, larger than the entire amount of recorded music revenue recorded back in 2017. The number of paid on-demand streaming service subscriptions, meanwhile, saw a 29 percent increase with a 2019 total of 60.4 million.