RIAA Releasing New Report

Written By Juliana Castrillon

September 14th, 2021

Today RIAA is releasing mid-year revenue numbers for recorded music in the United States, along with a Medium blog post providing context that reflects a challenging year for the music community with big steps forward and pandemic-related slides back.  I think we can all take a lot of pride in the way our music family has stuck together, working for meaningful relief and safe recovery.

 

The data we are releasing today shows continued strong growth in paid streaming subscriptions as recorded music continues to drive revenue and boost incomes across the entire music ecosystem.  A few topline numbers that jumped out at me:

 

  • Overall, recorded music revenues grew an impressive 27% over the first half of 2020, reaching a new high of 82 million paid US subscriptions;

  •  Ad-supported subscriptions bounced back from the dislocations of 2020, growing 54% in the first half of 2021 after being largely flat the year before as all ad markets were hit by the pandemic; and

  • Vinyl now makes up nearly two-thirds of physical revenues as CD sales continue to slide. While still a small part of the overall market, the growth in vinyl reflects how music lovers are discovering and rediscovering the joy of owning records.

 

The complete report is available here and the full blog can be read here.  We’ll also be posting on socials using the hashtag #RIAAMusicData.  

 

All the best,

 

Mitch Glazier

Juliana Castrillon
Next

Shuttered Venue Grants - Provides funding for talent reps too!