Global music sales skyrocketed to $19 billion in 2018
Global music sales have exploded thanks to streaming subscriptions.
Music will never be redundant, although the way we consume it may change. For the past few years the music industry hit a lull, with record sales dropping etc. but it seems to be turning around.
In 2018 music sales brought the industry $19 billion, coming close to the 2006 level, says global music representative IFPI.
The influx comes at the heels of booming streaming service subscriptions that have essentially saved the music industry from it’s decade-long freefall.
Over the past decade, streaming revenues have grown from $40 million to almost $9 billion with the likes of Spotify, Apple Music and Deezer generating almost half (46%) of the music industry’s total revenue.
Growth leads to investment
The growth of streaming subscriptions was enough to offset the 10% drop in CD sales and a 21% drop in digital downloads.
The vinyl revival is still growing at a steady pace, up by 6% in 2018 and now contributing to 3.6% of the overall music industry pie.
In terms of major music makers, the IFPI named Drake as the biggest recording artist of 2018, followed by K-Pop supergroup BTS and Ed Sheeran.
Overall music industry revenue was up by 9.7% in 2018, marking the fourth consecutive year of growth.
At a press conference, Frances Moore, IFPI chief executive said:
“In previous years this [event] used to be described as a ‘mourn-fest’, because we only had bad news.
“But four years starts to look like it’s a pattern, rather than just a one-off.”
“The potential and the vision is so much different because where you’ve got growth, you can invest.
“When the growth wasn’t there, it was a question of just getting by and keeping the industry going on a day-to-day basis.”
Global music sales may go through twists and turns, but if there’s music, there will be sales.
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