According to data released on Thursday, global music revenues increased 10.2 percent to $28.6 billion last year. However, record labels are worried about how to sustain growth in the streaming era.
According to the annual study of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, which represents international record companies, Taylor Swift was the most popular musician in the world, which should come as no surprise.
Swift was shortly followed by Stray Kids and Seventeen, two Korean bands, which is indicative of the growing popularity of K-Pop.
The world’s top singles were “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus, which was the only song to reach over 2 billion streams (2.7 billion), followed by “Kill Bill” by Sza (1.84 billion) and “Calm Down” by Rema and Selena Gomez (1.89 billion).
For the eighth year in a row, the music business expanded, mostly due to streaming’s 11.2 percent rise, which now accounts for more than two-thirds (67.3 percent) of global revenue.
At 667 million, paid streaming subscriptions surpassed 500 million for the first time.
Physical media had increase as well, with sales up 13.4%, especially vinyl.
“The figures in this year’s report reflect a truly global and diverse industry, with revenues growing in every market, every region and across virtually every recorded music format,” said John Nolan, IFPI’s chief financial officer.
Sub-Saharan Africa (up 24.7%) and Latin America (19.4%) saw the largest growth rates, mostly attributable to the proliferation of streaming services and the ascent of local celebrities like Burna Boy, Asake, J Balvin, and Bad Bunny.
The US, Japan, and UK continued to be the three largest music markets.
