Tethered to those gigantic, global macroeconomic fortunes, in 2024, the music industry had an astonishing year. CEO of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), Victoria Oakley, noted these remarkable strides in this year’s Global Music Report 2025. Streaming revenues crossed the $20 billion threshold for the first time, an impressive, if not expected, milestone for the industry. This expansion was supported by an astounding 10.6% surge in worldwide streaming subscribers, reaching 752 million individuals. Subscription streaming hit a whopping 9.5% increase.
Even as streaming crushed the overall market, physical formats still saw a drop of 3.1%. For U.S. fabrication notwithstanding, CDs never lost their popularity in Japan. Most impressively, vinyl revenues marked their 18th year in a row of double-digit growth, rising 4.6%. In addition, the report notes major market expansions in Puerto Rico, California, and Massachusetts. Most notably, Latin America, the Middle East & North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa are all seeing outstanding growth rates above 22%.
Streaming Dominates the Global Music Landscape
In 2024, this time streaming has assumed total control over the music business. It made up a record-shattering 69% of all recorded music revenues. With streaming revenues at $20.4 billion, it was a watershed year for the global music industry. The boom in streaming is driven by an increasingly engaged pool of users. It shot up by 10.6%, adding an impressive 752 million people worldwide.
Nikki Victoria Oakley joined the panel to refocus attention on the sweeping and exciting opportunities that streaming gives to artists and the industry at large.
"Then streaming – where you perhaps do an awful lot of your listening, there is publishing, there is songwriting, there is music for film, there's music for adverts, there is merchandising. There's this whole ecosystem of different ways in which artists both reach their fans and make money and can thrive as artists," she stated.
Emerging Markets and Their Impact
The report called out exceptional growth across emerging markets. Latin America had an outstanding 22.5% growth. At the same time, growth in the Middle East & North Africa and in Sub-Saharan Africa reached a phenomenal 22.8%. This expansion is indicative to what global music consumption and production looks like today.
Oakley reflected on the increasing impact of Latin American music internationally.
"I think one of the interesting stories in terms of Latin American music is how it's reaching the broader world, perhaps taking its rightful place on the global stage," she remarked.
The report noted Europe's contribution to the global music market, representing 29.5% of the global figure with an 8.3% growth rate.
Physical Formats: A Mixed Picture
Even with the huge success of streaming services, physical formats still saw a drop of 3.1%. Japan was always unique in that it was a market where CDs are still loved and adored by consumers. Vinyl records continued their record streak as well, growing revenues by 4.6% — the 18th year in a row of double-digit growth.
Oakley spoke with us about the rediscovery of the vinyl record, and what they mean to collectors.
"So you may have an artist who releases essentially the same record, but with different colours of vinyl, different artwork, different material, different words, different poetry on the insert and it's really important to fans who want to have that really strong personal connectivity with their artist," she explained.
Future Prospects and Industry Insights
Beyond that, Oakley pointed to promising opportunities in the Chinese and Indian markets. Areas that have prominent cultural diversity, as well as concentration and complexity in their music performances, offer exciting prospects for continuing expansion.
"So quite what will happen in China and quite what will happen in India remain uncertain but those are huge markets with huge diversity and variety in both their offer of music and what they listen to. And so I think watching both of those markets over the coming years will be really interesting," she observed.
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