Within Music
What Global Music Revenue Numbers Show
IFPI market figures show recorded music revenue, streaming subscriptions and format shifts across the global industry.
On this page
- Recorded revenue and market growth
- Streaming subscriptions and paid access
- What headline numbers can hide
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Introduction
IFPI measures recorded music growth by tracking the money generated by recorded music across formats, markets and regions, then comparing those figures with previous calendar years. Its headline figure is not “all music income” and not what every artist personally receives; it is a recorded-music industry revenue measure built from label-supplied data, national industry verification, format categories and currency conversion. In the 2026 Global Music Report, IFPI said global recorded music revenues reached US$31.7 billion in 2025, up 6.4%, marking the eleventh consecutive year of growth. Paid streaming was the central driver: subscription streaming grew 8.8%, represented 52.4% of global recorded music revenues, and helped lift paid subscription account users to 837 million worldwide. Those numbers show the recorded sector’s recovery and expansion, but they also need careful reading because headline growth can hide regional differences, format volatility, exchange-rate effects, and unresolved questions about how revenue reaches artists and songwriters. [IFPI]ifpi.orgIFPIGLOBAL MUSIC REPORT 2026: GLOBAL RECORDED MUSIC REVENUES GROW 6.4% AS RECORD COMPANIES DRIVE INNOVATION - IFPI…
What IFPI Is Actually Measuring
IFPI, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, represents the recording industry worldwide. Its Global Music Report is designed to measure the recorded music market: the revenue connected to sound recordings, not the full music economy of touring, merchandise, publishing, venue income, fan clubs or creator earnings from every possible source. That distinction matters because a single song can generate money through both the recording and the composition, but IFPI’s headline market figure is centred on the recording side. [IFPI]gmr.ifpi.orgabout reportabout report
The 2026 report’s own notes describe the data base behind the figures. IFPI says its global revenue picture is sourced directly from record company members worldwide and verified through its network of national industry groups. It also says detailed consumption data is drawn from chart-provider partners, while local-currency values are converted using independently sourced exchange rates and historical local-currency values are restated annually. That means IFPI’s figures are not simply a public scrape of platform numbers; they are an industry dataset assembled from participating recording businesses, national market bodies, consumption partners and currency methodology. [IFPI]globalmusicreport.ifpi.orgFrequently Asked QuestionsFrequently Asked Questions
The main measurement unit is revenue by calendar year. IFPI reports global totals, regional totals, country rankings and format categories such as streaming, physical, downloads and other digital, performance rights and synchronisation. The 2026 premium report is described by IFPI as covering calendar year 2025 and providing five years of data from 2021 to 2025, which is why the figures are useful for trend analysis rather than just one-year headlines. [gmr.ifpi.org]gmr.ifpi.orgabout reportabout report
Recorded Revenue and Market Growth
The headline growth number answers a simple question: how much more recorded music revenue was generated than in the previous year? For 2025, IFPI’s answer was US$31.7 billion, up 6.4% on 2024. This followed 2024 revenue of US$29.6 billion, up 4.8%, and 2023 revenue of US$28.6 billion, up 10.2%. Read together, those figures show a market still growing, but not at a constant speed. [IFPI]ifpi.orgGMR2025 SOTIGMR2025 SOTI [Reuters]reuters.comstreaming boosts global music revenues once again 2025 report shows 2026 03 18IFPI Chief Executive Victoria Oakley credited the growth to strong music content and strategic partnerships, including collaborations wit…
IFPI’s year-on-year growth rate is especially useful because it compresses thousands of market movements into one comparable indicator. It shows whether the recorded music sector is expanding in aggregate after accounting for all the format lines IFPI includes. In 2025, every region grew, with IFPI reporting particularly strong regional gains in Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Latin America grew 17.1%, while the Middle East and North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa each grew 15.2%. [IFPI]ifpi.orgOpen source on ifpi.org.
The same data can also show where growth is concentrated. The USA and Canada remained the largest recorded-music region in 2025, holding 38.7% of global revenues and growing 3.5%. Europe grew 5.6% and accounted for 30.4% of global revenues. Asia grew 10.9%, helped by Japan returning to growth and China becoming the fourth-largest global market. These details matter because a healthy global number can be driven by very different local stories: mature subscription markets in North America, high physical demand in parts of Asia, and rapid streaming adoption in Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. [IFPI]ifpi.orgOpen source on ifpi.org.
Streaming Subscriptions and Paid Access
Paid streaming has become the central evidence line in IFPI’s growth story. In 2025, total streaming revenues surpassed US$22 billion and accounted for 69.6% of global recorded music income. Within that, paid subscription streaming grew 8.8% and represented 52.4% of all recorded music revenue. IFPI also counted 837 million users of paid streaming subscription accounts globally. [IFPI]ifpi.orgGMR 2024 State of the IndustryGMR 2024 State of the Industry
That subscription figure is not just a consumer-adoption statistic. It explains why recorded music revenue can keep growing even when downloads decline and physical formats fluctuate. The recurring-payment model gives labels and rightsholders a more predictable revenue base than the old pattern of one-off album purchases. WIPO’s 2025 discussion of IFPI data described the decade-long shift clearly: recorded music revenue rose from US$14 billion in 2014 to US$29.6 billion in 2024, while streaming became 69% of global revenue. [WIPO]wipo.intIFPI looks at a decade of digital transformation in the music industryIFPI looks at a decade of digital transformation in the music industry
The subscription line also helps distinguish paid access from ad-supported listening. IFPI reports total streaming as a combined category, but it separately highlights subscription streaming because paid access carries most of the sector’s revenue growth. In 2024, Reuters reported that streaming subscriptions rose 10.6% to 752 million users, while paid subscription revenue grew 9.5% and ad-supported formats rose only 1.2%. In 2025, the global subscription account-user figure rose again to 837 million, showing continued expansion but also raising questions about how much further mature markets can grow without price rises, new bundles or deeper penetration in emerging markets. [Reuters]reuters.comOpen source on reuters.com.
Format Shifts Are Part of the Measurement
IFPI’s growth data is not a single streaming chart. It is a format map showing how recorded music revenue moves between different channels. The core categories include streaming, physical formats, downloads and other digital revenue, performance rights and synchronisation. This matters because a headline revenue increase may come from one format compensating for weakness in another.
The 2025 picture is a good example. Streaming dominated, but physical formats also returned to growth, rising 8.0%, while vinyl rose 13.7% in its nineteenth consecutive year of growth. Performance rights revenue reached US$2.9 billion and grew 0.3%. These numbers show why “streaming is the whole story” is too simple: streaming is the largest growth engine, but physical products, public-performance income and licensing uses still affect the final total. [IFPI]ifpi.orgGlobal Music Report 2023 State of the IndustryGlobal Music Report 2023 State of the Industry
The previous year shows the opposite side of that volatility. In 2024, global revenue still grew 4.8%, but physical format revenues fell 3.1%, largely because of falling CD sales, even as vinyl grew for another year. Reuters and the Financial Times both noted that the 2024 growth rate slowed sharply from 2023, partly because the pandemic-era boost in some physical formats faded. [Reuters]reuters.comstreaming subscriptions boost 2023 recorded music revenues report 2024 03 21streaming subscriptions boost 2023 recorded music revenues report 2024 03 21
This is why IFPI’s format categories are useful for interpretation. A market can be growing because more people subscribe to streaming, because vinyl demand is rising, because performance-rights income has recovered, or because several smaller categories are moving at once. The headline total tells the size of the market; the format breakdown explains its shape.
What Headline Numbers Can Hide
IFPI’s figures are powerful because they make global comparison possible, but they are not a complete picture of music’s economic health. The first limitation is that global recorded revenue is not the same as artist income. Reuters noted in its 2026 coverage that IFPI’s report gave revenue figures but did not disclose how much of that income is shared with artists. That distinction is essential: recorded music revenue may rise while individual outcomes vary sharply by contract, repertoire ownership, catalogue age, territory, playlist performance and bargaining power. [Reuters]reuters.comstreaming boosts global music revenues once again 2025 report shows 2026 03 18IFPI Chief Executive Victoria Oakley credited the growth to strong music content and strategic partnerships, including collaborations wit…
The second limitation is that “growth” can be sensitive to exchange rates and restatement. IFPI says local-currency values are stated at independently sourced exchange rates and that historical local-currency values are restated annually, meaning market values can vary retrospectively because of foreign-currency movements. This is necessary for global comparison, but it also means readers should be careful when comparing older published dollar totals with newer restated figures. [IFPI]gmr.ifpi.orgGMR 2026 ContentsGMR 2026 Contents
The third limitation is that different industry bodies may use different valuation bases. In the United States, the RIAA has historically published retail-value revenue figures in some reports, while its 2025 material notes that reports are now based on wholesale data to align with global reporting standards. A US market number framed at estimated retail value is not directly equivalent to a wholesale or trade-style global number, even when both describe recorded music. [RIAA]riaa.comOpen source on riaa.com.
The fourth limitation is that streaming volume is not the same as streaming value. A rise in streams, uploads or users does not automatically translate into equal revenue growth for all participants. The UK Competition and Markets Authority found that streaming had helped recorded music revenues recover from their 2015 low, but also examined concerns about creator outcomes, rights splits and the distribution of streaming income. That makes IFPI’s global revenue data a starting point for understanding the market, not a final answer to whether the system feels fair to musicians. [GOV.UK]GOV.UKMusic and streaming market studyMusic and streaming market study
Finally, the data can hide quality and integrity problems inside apparently healthy growth. IFPI’s 2026 release explicitly warned about streaming fraud, arguing that artificially generated plays for manipulated or fake content divert revenue from legitimate artists and distort the market. That warning matters because modern growth is measured through digital systems where usage data, licensing income and recommendation systems are closely linked. A larger streaming market is not automatically a cleaner or more equitable market. [IFPI]gmr.ifpi.orgGMR2026 MethodologyGMR2026 Methodology
How to Read IFPI Numbers Well
The best way to read IFPI’s recorded music figures is to separate four questions that often get blurred together.
First, ask what grew. Was the increase driven by paid streaming, ad-supported streaming, vinyl, public-performance revenue, synchronisation, or regional expansion? In 2025, paid streaming was the dominant driver, but physical growth and regional gains also mattered. [IFPI]ifpi.orgIFPIGLOBAL MUSIC REPORT 2026: GLOBAL RECORDED MUSIC REVENUES GROW 6.4% AS RECORD COMPANIES DRIVE INNOVATION - IFPI…
Second, ask where the growth happened. Global growth of 6.4% in 2025 contained slower growth in the largest region, USA and Canada, and much faster growth in Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. This shows a maturing subscription economy in some markets and continuing expansion in others. [IFPI]gmr.ifpi.orgabout reportabout report
Third, ask what is being counted. IFPI is measuring recorded music revenues, not the total value of music culture or every creator’s earnings. It is especially strong for understanding label-market revenue, format change and regional recorded-music development. It is less suitable on its own for answering questions about individual artist pay, songwriter income, touring economics or fan spending outside recorded formats.
Fourth, ask what comparison is being made. IFPI’s global figures are most useful when compared with IFPI’s own previous-year figures, because the methodology is designed for consistent cross-market reporting. Comparisons with RIAA, MIDiA, retail-sales bodies or platform-specific reports can still be useful, but only after checking whether the numbers are wholesale, retail, trade, subscription-account, consumption or broader market estimates. MIDiA, for example, reported a larger 2025 recorded-music market estimate than IFPI, illustrating how different market definitions can produce different totals even when they describe the same broad sector. [MIDiA Research]midiaresearch.comMIDi A Research IFPI confirms global recorded music revenue growthMIDi A Research IFPI confirms global recorded music revenue growth
IFPI’s numbers show that recorded music has moved from post-piracy recovery into a streaming-led global growth era. The most useful reading is neither celebration nor dismissal. The figures show a larger, more international and more subscription-dependent recorded music market; they do not, by themselves, prove that every artist, songwriter or local scene is benefiting equally.
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Endnotes
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Source: ifpi.org
Link: https://www.ifpi.org/global-music-report-2026-global-recorded-music-revenues-grow-6-4-as-record-companies-drive-innovation/Source snippet
IFPIGLOBAL MUSIC REPORT 2026: GLOBAL RECORDED MUSIC REVENUES GROW 6.4% AS RECORD COMPANIES DRIVE INNOVATION - IFPI...
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Source: reuters.com
Title: streaming boosts global music revenues once again 2025 report shows 2026 03 18
Link: https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/streaming-boosts-global-music-revenues-once-again-2025-report-shows-2026-03-18/Source snippet
IFPI Chief Executive Victoria Oakley credited the growth to strong music content and strategic partnerships, including collaborations wit...
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Source: wipo.int
Title: IFPI looks at a decade of digital transformation in the music industry
Link: https://www.wipo.int/en/web/wipo-magazine/articles/ifpi-looks-at-a-decade-of-digital-transformation-in-the-music-industry-73661 -
Source: gmr.ifpi.org
Title: about report
Link: https://gmr.ifpi.org/about-report -
Source: globalmusicreport.ifpi.org
Title: Frequently Asked Questions
Link: https://globalmusicreport.ifpi.org/faq -
Source: reuters.com
Link: https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/music-revenues-rise-again-2024-boosted-by-streaming-subscriptions-report-shows-2025-03-19/ -
Source: reuters.com
Title: streaming subscriptions boost 2023 recorded music revenues report 2024 03 21
Link: https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/streaming-subscriptions-boost-2023-recorded-music-revenues-report-2024-03-21/ -
Source: riaa.com
Link: https://www.riaa.com/reports/ -
Source: riaa.com
Link: https://www.riaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/RIAA-Year-End-Revenue-2025.pdf -
Source: GOV.UK
Title: Music and streaming market study
Link: https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/music-and-streaming-market-study -
Source: GOV.UK
Link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/music-and-streaming-market-study-update-paper/executive-summary -
Source: ifpi.org
Title: GMR2025 SOTI
Link: https://www.ifpi.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GMR2025_SOTI.pdf -
Source: ifpi.org
Link: https://www.ifpi.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GMR2026_SOTI.pdf -
Source: ifpi.org
Link: https://www.ifpi.org/ifpi-amidst-highly-competitive-market-global-recorded-music-revenues-grew-4-8-in-2024/ -
Source: ifpi.org
Title: GMR 2024 State of the Industry
Link: https://www.ifpi.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GMR_2024_State_of_the_Industry.pdf -
Source: ifpi.org
Title: Global Music Report 2023 State of the Industry
Link: https://www.ifpi.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Global_Music_Report_2023_State_of_the_Industry.pdf -
Source: gmr.ifpi.org
Title: GMR 2026 Contents
Link: https://gmr.ifpi.org/downloads/GMR%202026_Contents.pdf -
Source: gmr.ifpi.org
Title: GMR2026 Methodology
Link: https://gmr.ifpi.org/downloads/GMR2026_Methodology.pdf -
Source: riaa.com
Link: https://www.riaa.com/riaa-reports-us-recorded-music-annual-revenue-achieves-new-high-of-11-5-billion-in-2025/ -
Source: riaa.com
Title: 2025 year end music industry revenue report riaa
Link: https://www.riaa.com/reports/2025-year-end-music-industry-revenue-report-riaa/ -
Source: riaa.com
Title: 2025 mid year music industry revenue report riaa
Link: https://www.riaa.com/reports/2025-mid-year-music-industry-revenue-report-riaa/ -
Source: riaa.com
Link: https://www.riaa.com/ -
Source: riaa.com
Link: https://www.riaa.com/u-s-sales-database/ -
Source: assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
Title: publishing.service.gov.uk Music and streaming
Link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6384f43ee90e077898ccb48e/Music_and_streaming_final_report.pdf -
Source: assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
Title: Music and streaming final report executive
Link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6384edb7e90e07789ae1271c/Music_and_streaming_final_report_executive_summary.pdf -
Source: GOV.UK
Title: music and streaming market study final report
Link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/music-and-streaming-market-study-final-report -
Source: midiaresearch.com
Title: MIDi A Research IFPI confirms global recorded music revenue growth
Link: https://www.midiaresearch.com/blog/ifpi-confirms-global-recorded-music-revenue-growth -
Source: researchguides.library.syr.edu
Link: https://researchguides.library.syr.edu/music/data
Additional References
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Source: ft.com
Link: https://www.ft.com/content/05ea07dc-2fae-4616-93e1-746cc8ac4635Source snippet
El mercado estadounidense apenas creció un 2.2% el año pasado. Las suscripciones pagadas a servicios como Spotify y Apple Music siguieron...
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Source: youtube.com
Title: Trends in the Modern Music Business
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aG3D_m6M0-cSource snippet
This video provides direct insights into the latest IFPI Global Music Report findings and the primary drivers behind industry revenue growth...
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Source: linkedin.com
Link: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dimastreaming_global-music-report-2026-global-recorded-activity-7440770290479038464-4Dg3 -
Source: facebook.com
Link: https://www.facebook.com/Billboard/posts/in-the-ifpis-annual-global-music-report-covering-the-music-industry-2025-global-/1302327805101128/ -
Source: linkedin.com
Link: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/michelearnese_curious-about-the-10-companies-that-are-reshaping-activity-7446228533019901952-aUnz -
Source: linkedin.com
Link: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/drewthurlow_us-recorded-music-revenue-hit-115b-in-activity-7439384357548666880-0QME -
Source: facebook.com
Link: https://www.facebook.com/theviolinchannel/posts/the-recording-industry-association-of-america-recently-released-its-2025-year-en/1497021961781140/ -
Source: reddit.com
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/1rz0vzq/oc_global_recorded_music_industry_revenues_by/ -
Source: musicbusinessworldwide.com
Link: https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/as-recorded-music-revenues-hit-31-7b-globally-ifpi-ceo-victoria-oakley-explains-the-opportunities-and-the-threats-ahead/ -
Source: wiggin.co.uk
Link: https://www.wiggin.co.uk/insight/competition-and-markets-authority-publishes-final-report-in-its-study-on-music-streaming-market/
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