How the internet saved the record industry

Paid streaming subscriptions have given the record industry a lifeline, restoring it to a period of growth and expansion

GLOBAL RECORDED MUSIC INDUSTRY REVENUE
$30 billion  

Physical
Digital (excluding streaming) 
Streaming 
Other*

20
10
0   99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

2017 streaming revenue: $6.6bn

Since 2014, record label sales have jumped average of 7% each year

*Includes performance rights and synchronisation revenue
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MUSIC STREAMING SERVICES’ PER-PLAY ROYALTY RATE

Napster           1.900¢     77,474 Number of plays needed to earn U.S. monthly minimum wage of $1,472
TIDAL             1.250¢    177,604
Apple Music       0.735¢    200,272
Google Play Music 0.676¢    217,752
Deezer            0.640¢    230,000 
Spotify           0.437¢    336,842
Amazon            0.402¢    366,169 
Pandora Premium   0.133¢  1,106,767
YouTube           0.069¢  2,133,333

         
Ariana Grande, Spotify’s most streamed female artist, 2018 (46.9m monthly listeners)
    
   
Sources: Bloomberg, Digital Music News, IFPI, Spotify Picture: Associated Press © GRAPHIC NEWS