Global recorded music market grows 7.4 percent in 2020

The global recorded music market grew by 7.4 percent in 2020, the sixth consecutive year of growth, according to the Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), the organization that represents the recorded music industry worldwide. Figures released today in IFPI's Global Music Report show total revenues for 2020 were $21.6 billion.

Growth was driven by streaming, especially by paid subscription streaming revenues, which increased by 18.5 percent. There were 443 million users of paid subscription accounts at the end of 2020.

Asia grew 9.5 percent and digital revenues surpassed a 50 percent share of the region's total revenues, for the first time. The report said that Asia would have been the fastest-growing region, with exceptional growth of 29.9 percent.

Total streaming (including both paid subscription and advertising-supported) grew 19.9 percent and reached $13.4 billion, or 62.1 percent of total global recorded music revenues. The growth in streaming revenues more than offset the decline in other formats' revenues, including physical revenues which declined 4.7 percent; and revenues from performance rights which declined 10.1 percent - largely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The work and investment of record companies has helped lay the foundations for a predominantly digital industry that proved its resilience against the extraordinary circumstances of 2020. In a challenging year, record companies have worked alongside their artist partners to support them in creating and recording music and the whole sector has continued to drive innovations in the ways fans can experience music around the world.

IFPI Chief Executive Frances Moore said: "As the world contends with the COVID-19 pandemic, we are reminded of the enduring power of music to console, heal and lift our spirits.

"Some things are timeless, like the power of a great song or the connection between artists and fans. But some things have changed. With so much of the world in lockdown and live music shut down, in nearly every corner of the globe most fans enjoyed music via streaming," she said.

Fuelled by record companies' ongoing investment in artists and their careers, along with innovative efforts to help artists bring music to fans in new ways, recorded music revenues grew globally for the sixth consecutive year, driven by subscription streaming. As record companies continue to expand their geographical footprint and cultural reach, music has become more globally connected today, than ever before and this growth has spread across all regions around the globe.

Recorded music revenues grew in every region around the world in 2020, including Latin America maintaining its position as the fastest-growing region globally (15.9 percent) as streaming revenues grew by 30.2 percent and accounted for 84.1 percent of the region's total revenues.

Featured as a region in the report for the first time, recorded music revenues in the Africa and Middle East region increased by 8.4 percent, driven primarily by the Middle East and North Africa region (37.8 percent). Streaming dominated, with revenues up 36.4 percent.

Revenues in Europe, the second-largest recorded music region in the world, grew by 3.5 percent as strong streaming growth of 20.7 percent offset declines in all other consumption formats. The US market grew by 7.3 percent and Canadian recorded music revenues grew by 8.1 percent.