RIAA mid-year data shows streaming, vinyl record sales, keying music revenue surge

Streaming's continued surge as a domestic music industry revenue leader is among the highlights of the Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA) 2023 mid-year revenue report.

Total revenues grew 9.3% at estimated retail value and marked an all-time first-half high of $8.4 billion as paid subscriptions remained the most potent driver, accounting for 78% of streaming revenues, noted The Recording Industry Association of America -- which also states that "the industry has hit new revenue milestones after a decade of transformation."

RIAA Chairman & CEO Mitch Glazier observed that the report "[described] a thriving, growing music ecosystem that continues to reach new heights and shape our culture," plus reflects the creative human genius and hard work of all the artists, songwriters, labels, publishers, and services who make the music happen and meet fans and audiences where they are in today's forward-looking and innovative music community."

The national-to-global impact of streaming is noteworthy.

Artists like breakout American country star Zach Bryan have seen their streams on platforms like Spotify increase over 200% worldwide in the past 18 months, with a 500% growth in monthly listeners.

Impressively, revenues from physical music formats also continued to trend towards billions in revenue. Vinyl records are outpacing CDs and account for 72% of physical format revenues.

This reflects moments like the Oct. 2022 release week of Taylor Swift's latest album "Midnights."

Luminate reported vinyl LP sales for "Midnights" -- complete with collectible variants featuring unique artwork and disc colors -- reaching roughly 400,000, including online pre-sales and Friday in-store purchases. That total doubles Harry Styles' 181,000 copies of "Harry's House" sold in 2021, according to Billboard.

Vinyl sales are peaking in a manner not seen in three decades.

As physical unit sales increase, revenues from digitally downloaded music continue to decline, down 12% to $225 million. Digital album and individual track sales now hover in the $100 million revenue bracket. Downloads now account for just 3% of U.S. recorded music revenues.

For more information about the Recording Industry Association of America's mid-year 2023 data, visit https://www.riaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/RIAA-Mid-Year-2023-Revenue-Report.pdf.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: RIAA mid-year data shows streaming, vinyl record sales, keying music revenue surge