Washington, DC (September 18, 2023)—The RIAA has released its new report for the first six months of 2023, detailing a 9.3% increase in recorded music revenues to $8.4 billion—an all-time half-year high—and a ninth straight year of growth.
Streaming’s share of recorded music revenues may have largely held steady since at least 2020 at around 84% of the total, yet its value continues to grow. For the first half of this year, streaming revenues grew 10.3% over the previous year to top $7 billion. Revenue growth from paid subscription services grew 11% to $5.5 billion, outpacing the growth in the number of accounts, which increased by just 6%. The average number of subscribers for paid streaming services was 95.8 million compared to 90 million during the equivalent period in 2022.
Ad-based streaming grew at a slower pace, with services such as YouTube and the ad-supported version of Spotify, Facebook and others reporting a 1% increase to $860 million. Digital and customized radio music revenues including SoundExchange distributions for revenues from services like SiriusXM and internet radio stations, as well as payments directly paid by similar services, grew 7% to $498 million.
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Revenues from physical music formats—vinyl and CD—were at their highest levels since the first half of 2013, growing 5% to $882 million over the previous year. Vinyl albums outsold CDs for the third consecutive year, growing 1% to bring in $632 million, or 72% of all physical formats, from 23 million units versus 15 million CDs.
Digital downloads continue to decline, plummeting 12% to $225 million and accounting for only 3% of all recorded music revenues in the U.S. for the period.
Mitch Glazier, chairman and CEO, RIAA, in a guest column published by Rolling Stone accompanying the new revenue figures, commented, “As we’re fond of saying, ‘Music doesn’t just happen.’ This success reflects the hard work, innovation, and creative genius of the artists, songwriters, labels, publishers and services that make up the U.S. music community.”
Glazier also reports that annual Latin music revenues in the U.S. exceeded $1 billion for the first time in 2022 and showing continued growth faster than overall revenues in the first half of 2023. “We look forward to releasing a full report on the Latin segment during Hispanic Heritage Month,” he writes, “and as a capstone to our upcoming RIAA Honors Celebration of Latin music where we will recognize legends Gloria and Emilio Estefan, superstar Sebastián Yatra and other Latin music trailblazers as well as the policymakers who protect it all.”
