While some would see the headline as a surprise. Most people know that it was just been a matter of time before technology caught up with sales. That time is now. For All it’s Complaining, Turns out Streaming is Now Music Industry’s Biggest Revenue Stream. Well when it comes to the American music industry anyway. According to the RIAA streaming music accounted for 34.3% of US music revenue in 2015 while downloads were at 34%. While physical sales still happen it continues to drop. It came in at 28.8%. Ad-based streaming made 30.6% more and paid subscriptions moved up to 52.3%.
“In 2015, digital music subscription services reached new all-time highs, generating more than $1 billion in revenues for the first time, and averaging nearly 11 million paid subscriptions for the year. Heading into 2016, the number of subscriptions swelled even higher — more than 13 million by the end of December — holding great promise for this year.” ~ RIAA CEO Cary Sherman
The point is online music sales were enough to offset the drop in demand for hard copies. The entire industry’s revenue grew by 0.9%. Yes, that is a modest percentage but that translates into $7 Billion and it is better than a decline. Apple Music, Tidal, Spotify, Pandora and even SiriusXM all played roles in helping move the needle.