Julia Stoll
Research expert covering TV and video media
Music industry worldwide - statistics & facts
Since English singer John Miles has first sung the line, 鈥渢o live without my music would be impossible to do鈥 , the music landscape has undergone some drastic changes. Yet, the sentiment expressed in his words remains true to this day: music has grown into an indispensable part of our every-day lives and has created an industry that is worth billions of dollars worldwide nowadays. In fact, the industry has been flourishing in recent years, as both live music, as well as recorded music, especially through streaming, record increasing revenues year over year.
Based on the development of the music industry in most recent years, it is highly unlikely that the world must share John Miles鈥 worries about ever living without music in the future. The need to have music as a constant companion in any possible situation is likely to keep the music industry flourishing and music streaming its main driver for this growth. Furthermore, after years of having to go without live music events, and despite constantly rising prices, the enthusiasm for live music events seems to have been newly ignited, and music lovers will continue to flock to the music venues around the globe.
Music streaming 鈥 a companion for every situation
In his song, Miles continues by singing that music pulls him through this world of troubles. The invention of music streaming definitely made this happen, as no other format before managed to make music so accessible and so convenient for music lovers in every possible moment. Whether at home, in the park, or at the gym, with the help of internet and smartphones, we are now able to listen to music wherever we are and whenever we want 鈥 and music streaming becomes more and more popular, with the global number of paying music streaming subscribers surpassing 700 million. At the same time, music listeners worldwide prefer streaming to any other available format, as nearly two thirds of the global engagement time with music happens through streaming. Consequently, it comes as no surprise that music streaming has turned into the principal driver of the recorded music industry, grossing more than all of the other branches together.Taylor Swift crushes records for the live music industry
However, music streaming is not the sole responsible factor for the success of the music industry. After having suffered years of uncertainty and restrictions, that made its figures plummeting, the live music industry is now reporting new records for a number of indicators, compared to previous years. As the global industry reached a new maximum revenue of over nine billion U.S dollars, as well as a new high in overall ticket sales in 2023, there was one name closely attached to this success: Taylor Swift. Being the first tour in history to have surpassed this threshold, her 鈥淓ra鈥檚 Tour鈥 grossed over one billion U.S dollars alone globally that year 鈥 a number she is likely to have doubled in 2024, according to the latest estimates.Based on the development of the music industry in most recent years, it is highly unlikely that the world must share John Miles鈥 worries about ever living without music in the future. The need to have music as a constant companion in any possible situation is likely to keep the music industry flourishing and music streaming its main driver for this growth. Furthermore, after years of having to go without live music events, and despite constantly rising prices, the enthusiasm for live music events seems to have been newly ignited, and music lovers will continue to flock to the music venues around the globe.
