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2023 Recorded Music Revenue Increased 8% to Record $17.1 Billion, Driven by Streaming
March 26, 2024
Revenue from the sale of recorded music in the United States in 2023 grew for the eighth consecutive year to a record $17.1 billion, according to new year-end data from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The tally was up 8% from revenue of $15.9 billion in 2022.
Streaming continued to be the biggest driver of growth with record levels of engagement in paid subscriptions, continued growth in ad-supported revenue, and growing contributions from new platforms and services. At wholesale value revenue grew 7% to a record high of $11 billion from $10.28 billion in 2022.
Paid streaming subscriptions, ad-supported services, digital and customized radio, social media platforms, digital fitness apps and other platforms grew combined revenue 8% to a record high $14.4 billion from $13.3 billion in 2022. These services collectively accounted for 84% of total revenue for the second year in a row.
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Revenue from paid subscriptions grew 9% to $11.2 billion from $10.27 billion, accounting for 78% of streaming revenue, and nearly two-thirds of total revenue. Limited-tier subscriptions (services limited by factors such as mobile access, catalog availability, product features, or device restrictions) fell 4% to $1 billion from $1.04 billion. Services such as Amazon Prime, Pandora Plus, music licenses for streaming fitness services, and other subscriptions are included in this category.
The number of paid subscriptions to on-demand music services continued to grow and reach new highs in 2023. The average number of subscriptions for the year grew 5.7% to 96.8 million, compared with an average of 91.6 million for 2022. These figures exclude limited-tier services, and count multi-user plans as a single subscription.
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Revenue from digitally downloaded music continued to decline in 2023, down 12% to $434 million from $493.2 million. Both digital album sales and individual track sales were down double digits to $205 million and $191 million, respectively. Downloads accounted for just 3% of U.S. recorded music revenues in 2023, down from a peak of 43% of revenue in 2012.
Revenue from physical music formats continued to grow after their pandemic-era resurgence in 2021. Total physical revenue of $1.9 billion was up 11% versus $2.13 billion in the prior year. Revenue from vinyl records grew 10% to $1.4 billion from $1.27 billion — the 17th consecutive year of growth — and accounted for 71% of physical format revenue. For the second time since 1987, vinyl albums outsold CDs in units (43 million vs. 37 million), even as revenue from CDs also showed growth, up 11% to $537 million from $483.7 million in 2022.