Contents
- Recorded music revenue statistics: Global revenue and growth through 2025
- Recorded music revenue statistics: Streaming share and global format revenue
- Recorded music revenue statistics: Physical sales, vinyl, CDs, and other formats
- Recorded music revenue statistics: Regional market growth in 2025
- Recorded music revenue statistics: U.S. wholesale streaming and download revenue
- Recorded music revenue statistics: U.S. physical revenue and mid-year growth
- Sources
Recorded music revenue statistics: Global revenue and growth through 2025
Global recorded music revenue reached an all-time high of US$31.7 billion in 2025. It grew 6.4% that year, an improvement on the 4.7% growth rate reported for 2024. IFPI also describes 2025 as the 11th consecutive year of global recorded music revenue growth. These figures describe the recorded music market, rather than the wider music economy. Source: IFPI Global Music Report 2026 — State of the Industry
The report’s long-run chart provides a short sequence of early-2000s annual revenue markers. It labels global recorded music industry revenue at US$22.3 billion in 1999, US$20.9 billion in 2000, US$22.1 billion in 2001, US$20.7 billion in 2002, and US$19.2 billion in both 2003 and 2004. The figures are in US$ billions and correspond to specific years on the chart. They give historical context for the 2025 record, without implying a smooth year-by-year trend between the selected observations. Source: IFPI Global Music Report 2026 — State of the Industry
| Year | Global recorded music industry revenue |
|---|---|
| 1999 | US$22.3 billion |
| 2000 | US$20.9 billion |
| 2001 | US$22.1 billion |
| 2002 | US$20.7 billion |
| 2003 | US$19.2 billion |
| 2004 | US$19.2 billion |
The historical chart points and the 2025 headline use the same broad global recorded music framing, but the selected early figures should be read as chart observations, not as a full annual series reproduced here. Revenue and growth rates are separate measures: the US$31.7 billion figure is the level reached in 2025, while 6.4% is the reported change for that year. Source: IFPI Global Music Report 2026 — State of the Industry
Recorded music revenue statistics: Streaming share and global format revenue
Streaming represented 69.6% of global recorded music revenue in 2025. The report’s format-share breakdown identifies subscription streaming at 52.4% and ad-supported streaming at 17.1%. The broader streaming share and its listed components are reported figures; the values are reproduced as published rather than adjusted to force a precise sum. Source: IFPI Global Music Report 2026 — State of the Industry
| Global format measure | 2025 figure |
|---|---|
| Streaming share of recorded music revenue | 69.6% |
| Subscription streaming share | 52.4% |
| Ad-supported streaming share | 17.1% |
| Physical share | 16.6% |
| Downloads and other digital share | 2.5% |
Streaming revenue grew 7.7% in 2025 and added US$1.6 billion to global revenues, taking the format’s total above US$22 billion for the first time. Subscription streaming revenue increased 8.8%, while combined ad-supported streaming formats grew 4.3%. Those rates describe distinct streaming categories; the combined ad-supported figure should not be confused with the overall streaming growth rate. Source: IFPI Global Music Report 2026 — State of the Industry
For comparison, IFPI’s 2025 release reported that streaming generated US$20.4 billion and represented 69.0% of total recorded music revenue in 2024. Paid subscription streaming revenue grew 9.5% in 2024. The 2024 and 2025 values are from different report editions, but each is explicitly tied to its own year; the 2024 figures are not current-year measures. Source: IFPI, “Amidst Highly Competitive Market, Global Recorded Music Revenues Grew 4.8% in 2024”
Recorded music revenue statistics: Physical sales, vinyl, CDs, and other formats
Global physical recorded music revenue amounted to US$5.3 billion in 2025, growing 8.0%. Vinyl revenue increased 13.7%, marking the format’s 19th consecutive year of growth. CD revenues were up 3.7%. These rates show that physical formats grew in the reported year, with different rates for vinyl and CDs; they do not give a breakdown of each format’s dollar contribution to the physical total. Source: IFPI Global Music Report 2026 — State of the Industry
Other format measures in the report show varied movement. Physical music video revenue grew 10.8% in 2025. Performance rights revenue reached US$2.9 billion and grew 0.3%. Synchronisation revenue totalled US$641 million and declined 2.0%. Downloads and other digital formats accounted for 2.5% of global recorded music revenue. These categories have their own definitions in the report; their figures should not be merged with physical sales or streaming. Source: IFPI Global Music Report 2026 — State of the Industry
The measures help distinguish format share from growth. A revenue share describes how much of the total a format represented, while a growth rate describes how its revenue changed over the stated period. The checked global figures provide a physical revenue total and selected format growth rates, but do not supply a complete dollar table for vinyl, CDs, and every other format. Source: IFPI Global Music Report 2026 — State of the Industry
Recorded music revenue statistics: Regional market growth in 2025
Latin American recorded music revenue grew 17.1% in 2025, marking the region’s 16th consecutive year of growth. Streaming accounted for 88.1% of recorded music revenue in the region. Within the regional figures, Brazil grew 14.1% and Mexico increased revenues by 13.3%. These country rates are reported separately from the regional growth figure, and the streaming share applies to Latin America rather than to either country individually. Source: IFPI Global Music Report 2026 — State of the Industry
USA and Canada combined recorded music revenue grew 3.5% in 2025 and held a 38.7% share of global recorded music revenue. The report also gives separate national growth rates: the USA, identified as the world’s largest single recorded music market, grew 3.3%, while Canada recorded 5.6% growth. The combined regional growth rate and global share have different scopes from the two country growth rates. Source: IFPI Global Music Report 2026 — State of the Industry
| Region or country | Reported 2025 measure |
|---|---|
| Latin America | Revenue growth: 17.1% |
| Brazil | Revenue growth: 14.1% |
| Mexico | Revenue growth: 13.3% |
| USA and Canada combined | Revenue growth: 3.5%; global revenue share: 38.7% |
| USA | Revenue growth: 3.3% |
| Canada | Revenue growth: 5.6% |
The regional indicators capture different dimensions: annual growth, a multi-year growth run, streaming’s share of a regional market, and a combined region’s portion of worldwide revenue. Latin America’s 16-year sequence is a continuity measure through 2025, while its 17.1% figure is the growth rate for that year. Source: IFPI Global Music Report 2026 — State of the Industry
Recorded music revenue statistics: U.S. wholesale streaming and download revenue
RIAA’s mid-year 2026 report measures U.S. wholesale dollar value in millions, net after returns. It reports total U.S. recorded music revenue of US$5,974.9 million in the first half of 2026, up 6.9% compared with the first half of 2025. This is a wholesale series, not a retail-dollar series, and it covers six months rather than a full calendar year. Source: RIAA Mid-Year 2026 Recorded Music Revenue Report
Total streaming revenue was US$4,890.7 million in the first half of 2026. The report lists paid premium subscriptions at US$3,112.6 million and paid non-premium subscriptions at US$239.1 million. Free streaming generated US$899.6 million, while other streaming generated US$639.4 million. Each value is a U.S. wholesale amount in millions of dollars, net after returns, for the same six-month period. Source: RIAA Mid-Year 2026 Recorded Music Revenue Report
| U.S. wholesale category | 1H 2026 revenue, net after returns |
|---|---|
| Total streaming revenue | US$4,890.7 million |
| Paid subscriptions (premium) | US$3,112.6 million |
| Paid subscriptions (non-premium) | US$239.1 million |
| Free streaming | US$899.6 million |
| Other streaming | US$639.4 million |
| Single downloads | US$49.1 million |
| Album downloads | US$53.8 million |
| Ringtones and ringbacks | US$1.6 million |
| Other digital | US$16.4 million |
The download and other digital categories are listed separately from streaming in the RIAA table. Single downloads generated US$49.1 million, album downloads US$53.8 million, ringtones and ringbacks US$1.6 million, and other digital US$16.4 million in the first half of 2026. The report’s wholesale basis and net-after-returns note apply to these values as well. Source: RIAA Mid-Year 2026 Recorded Music Revenue Report
Recorded music revenue statistics: U.S. physical revenue and mid-year growth
Total U.S. physical revenue reached US$731.5 million in the first half of 2026, compared with US$581.2 million in the first half of 2025. RIAA reports growth of 25.9% between those two six-month periods. The series is wholesale revenue, net after returns, and is distinct from retail sales measures. Source: RIAA Mid-Year 2026 Recorded Music Revenue Report
Vinyl accounted for US$543.8 million of U.S. wholesale revenue in the first half of 2026, up 17.7% from US$461.9 million in the first half of 2025. CD revenue was US$171.1 million, compared with US$107.9 million in the prior-year half, a reported increase of 58.6%. Other physical revenue rose 44.9%, from US$11.4 million to US$16.5 million. The table reports each category’s values and percentage change for the same period comparison. Source: RIAA Mid-Year 2026 Recorded Music Revenue Report
| U.S. physical wholesale category | 1H 2025 | 1H 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total physical revenue | US$581.2 million | US$731.5 million | +25.9% |
| Vinyl | US$461.9 million | US$543.8 million | +17.7% |
| CD | US$107.9 million | US$171.1 million | +58.6% |
| Other physical | US$11.4 million | US$16.5 million | +44.9% |
These U.S. mid-year figures describe revenue and growth for January through June, not a full-year result. The total physical line provides the aggregate, while vinyl, CDs, and other physical formats give category-level observations. The data support comparison of these reported values across the two six-month periods, with the stated wholesale basis and net-after-returns scope maintained throughout. Source: RIAA Mid-Year 2026 Recorded Music Revenue Report