Digital music in the United States - statistics & facts
The digital music industry has undergone a substantial transformation over the last decade, thanks to streaming services, revolutionizing the way we access and listen to music whenever and wherever we want. As a result of a shift in music consumption, streaming accounted for over half of all the revenue generated by the music industry in 2024, while other segments lost in importance. Revenues from music downloads and other digital formats were continuously losing ground since the early 2010s, plummeting to below one billion U.S dollars for the first time in nearly 20 years.
In this booming music streaming market, Spotify is the most popular service, both worldwide as well as in the United States, reaching a share of over 30 percent of monthly listeners in both cases. However, the U.S. market is currently witnessing YouTube’s growth, which is currently the second most popular and accounts for a fifth of the market.
The U.S. music industry is following the consumers, who are more and more reliant on online entertainment. Streaming is the main segment that determines the future of the digital music market.
What does the digital market look like?
Within the U.S. digital music market, by far the most profitable one worldwide, streaming and downloading are two of the most popular formats amongst digital music listeners. However, streaming has taken over as the main source for music delivery in the country, as these audiences have constantly been growing over the years, while downloading music has been in decline.In this booming music streaming market, Spotify is the most popular service, both worldwide as well as in the United States, reaching a share of over 30 percent of monthly listeners in both cases. However, the U.S. market is currently witnessing YouTube’s growth, which is currently the second most popular and accounts for a fifth of the market.
What does the future hold?
Overall, the music industry in the U.S. is flourishing, driven by consumers with a growing demand for flexible and paid streaming services and an appetite for on-the-go music consumption. By 2027, the number of streaming users is projected to increase to over 160 million. Consequently, the digital music industry in the United States experiences a similar development, when it comes to the average revenue per user (ARPU) in this segment. Music streaming’s ARPU is set to surpass 86 U.S. dollars, whereas music downloads are expected to generate just over five U.S. dollars that same year. All in all, digital music revenue is forecast to eclipse downloads even further in the upcoming years.The U.S. music industry is following the consumers, who are more and more reliant on online entertainment. Streaming is the main segment that determines the future of the digital music market.
