34% global streaming growth uplift: Luminate releases 2023 year-end music report 10 Jan 2024
Global On-Demand Audio Song Streams Broke the 4 Trillion Mark for the First Time
Share of English-Language Music Consumed Declines, Down Nearly 11% Globally Since 2021 (Amongst Top 10K Most Streamed Songs) as Hindi grows
The Report Includes Genre Analysis in Ex-U.S. Markets with Dance / Electronic music proving popular in Vietnam and Hungary and K-Pop finding fame with fans in Peru and Turkey
VIEW AND DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT
Today, Luminate, the entertainment industry's most essential data partner, released its 2023 Year-End Music Report. As in previous years, this report provides a quantitative look at the top trends that defined the global and U.S. music businesses in 2023, from genre shifts and new super fan insights to global listening trends and the relationship between film, TV and music discovery. The report also includes the definitive Year-End Charts, presented in partnership with Billboard, whose charts Luminate (formerly operating as Nielsen Music/SoundScan) has been fueling since 1991.
Luminate's new country-level streaming data, a new offering for Luminate's industry partners in its new data platform, was used to create the report, providing genre analysis for a myriad of markets outside of the U.S. The new offering follows last year's unveiling of Luminate's new global data platform, operating now in Beta.
Speaking on the release of the report and the new international data offering, Rob Jonas, CEO, Luminate, said, "As the trend of global streaming expands, evidenced by a +34% surge in 2023 according to our data, Luminate is committed to enhancing the international scope of the data and insights we provide. We're pleased to present this report, fueled predominantly by our new country-level streaming data and amplified by insights from our audience research. We aim to capture the trends that defined the music industry over the past year across 50 diverse markets. It also reflects the innovative strategies our team applied in managing data in 2023, including new partnerships with companies such as Deezer, Melon, Flo and Anghami. We look forward to continuing that collaborative approach in 2024."
Global music streaming volumes reached new records in 2023 while Taylor Swift dominated US consumption
The global total on demand song streams (audio+video) was 7.1 trillion (up 33.7% year on year), while global on-demand audio song streams broke the four trillion mark for the first time in 2023, totalling 4.1 trillion streams (up 22.3%). 436k tracks (ISRCs) were streamed 1 million or more times globally in 2023, up 16.7% from 373.5k tracks in 2022.
In the U.S., On-Demand Audio streaming grew +12.7% to 1.2 trillion in 2023, accounting for approximately a quarter of all songs streamed globally. Consumption of Catalog music[1], i.e. tracks older than 18 months, continued to grow in the territory, increasing by 0.4% to 72.6% compared to 27.4% of Current music consumption. A closer look at the US market revealed:
â— Taylor Swift made up 1.79% of the U.S. market (Albums w/ TEA w/ SEA On-Demand Audio) and 1 in every 78 U.S. Audio streams.
â— Female artist representation in audio stream volume within the Top 500 most streamed artists in the U.S. grew +4.2 percentage share points between 2022 and 2023.
â— The U.S. average music streaming spend increased in 2023, but Gen Z listeners reported spending 11% less on music streaming services per month when compared to 2022.
â— Tracks released in the last 5 years (2019-2023) make up 48.3% of U.S. audio streaming when analyzing the Top 500k tracks.
Concert films and music documentaries boosted music streaming
In 2023, the increasing influence of film, TV and on-demand platforms like Netflix boosted music discovery and streaming metrics for both current and heritage artists:
· The release of the Wham! Netflix documentary in July had a positive impact on the music streaming metrics of both Wham! and George Michael. In the three weeks following the documentary's release, there was a 21.2% surge in combined global music streaming, and the duo secured their first Christmas Number 1 with 'Last Christmas,' 37 years after the song's initial release.
· Taylor Swift, Talking Heads and Beyonce also enjoyed a significant boost in their on-demand global audio streaming performance in the three weeks after the release of their concert films in 2023: Taylor Swift with an astonishing 42.46% increase, Talking Heads with 14.10% and Beyonce with 24.57%.
Continued rise of world music adding downward pressure on English language streams
The share of English language on-demand audio and video in the Top 10K Global Tracks continued to decline since 2021 (-11%), while Hindi-language content grew alongside India's streaming market in the same period (+4%).
The streaming share of English language audio and video remains the most popular globally at 54.9%, down from 67% in 2021; Spanish language music follows in second place at 10%, with Hindi at 7.8% (up from 3.8% in 2021), Korean at 2.4% and Japanese at 2.1% (up from 1.5% in 2021).
A snapshot of the listening trends in the U.S. market revealed:
â— The streaming share of English language audio and video amongst the Top 10K streaming tracks in the U.S. decreased by 3.8% since 2021, while Spanish-language content grew +3.8% in that same timeframe.
â— Six Latin Music artists achieved 1B+ On-Demand Audio streams in the U.S. (Bad Bunny, Peso Pluma, Eslabon Armado, Karol G, Junior H, Fuerza Regida) with each of these artists in the U.S. Top 125 for 2023 Audio streaming.
â— 63% of Gen Z and 65% of Millennials agree they "listen to new music to experience new cultures & perspectives."
â— Multilingual music listeners are more likely to discover music via movie soundtracks (+34%), exclusive TV shows from streaming platforms (+36%), and video games (+50%).
â— Multilingual music listeners are 42% more likely than the average music listener to say "having access to music by global artists" is important when choosing a streaming service.
Genres enjoy cultural crossover outside of traditional territories whilst World Music, Latin and Country experience strong growth in the U.S.
A global analysis of the Top 100 songs of a specific genre showed where tracks are performing strongly outside of traditional home regions. Outside of the U.S., Dance / Electronic music accounted for the most proportion of streams in Vietnam, Slovakia, Croatia, Malaysia, and Hungary; whilst K-Pop proved popular outside of APAC with music fans in Peru, Turkey, Bolivia, Romania and Ecuador. The report also highlights the growing global listenership for Afrobeats, Country, U.S. Hip Hop / Rap and Latin music.
In the U.S., World, Latin and Country music saw the fastest growth in on-demand audio streaming activity by percentage change: World, which includes K-Pop and Afrobeats (+26.2%); Latin (+24.1%); Country (+23.7%).
â— Gen Z and Millennials are powering country artists to new streaming heights:
â—‹ Gen Z Country Listeners in the U.S. are 48% more likely to discover new music through video and/or audio streaming services than the average U.S. consumer and +16% more than other Gen Z music listeners.
â—‹ Gen Z Country Listeners in the U.S. are 64% more likely to listen to playlists shared by family and friends than the average U.S. consumer and +16 % more likely than other Gen Z music listeners.
â— Regional Mexican Music grew +60% in U.S. On-Demand Audio streams:
â—‹ U.S. Regional Mexican listeners see higher concentrations along the west coast and through the Southwest in states like Texas. This listenership aligns with Census demographic trends illustrating hispanic population patterns in the U.S. With 47% of Latin fans discovering new music via Friends and Relatives, the tie to culture is evident.
â— U.S. Hip-Hop consumption in 2023:
â—‹ In a year when Hip-Hop celebrated its 50th anniversary, the genre continues to lead all others in U.S. consumption (Albums w/ TEA w/ SEA On-Demand Audio).
â—‹ However, Current vs Catalog U.S. On-Demand Audio streaming reveals that R&B/Hip-Hop Current streaming is down 7.1% in volume since 2022 while Catalog grew 11.3%.
Catalog music paves the way for virtual concerts and other XR experiences
As well as the impact of concert films and audiovisual content on streaming figures, the report highlights further key trends in the consumption and creation of music, focusing on the growth of physical formats and the success of virtual experiences for legacy artists.
The success of the ABBA Voyage virtual concert tour launched in May 2022 for a minimum 2-year run, has opened up new revenue streams for other legacy acts.
· Swedish band ABBA saw a global surge of on-demand audio streams right after the launch of its virtual concert tour ABBA Voyage in London. In 2023, audio streams of the band were 16.7% higher than in 2022.
· More than 20% of Pop Top 40 UK listeners are more likely to tune into a live streamed / virtual music performance or event if the artist is performing top hits and old favorites, when compared to the average UK music listener.
· In The U.S., live music attendees are +170% more likely to attend a virtual concert than the average U.S. music listener.
- Millennials who attend live events and virtual concerts on average spend 3X more per month on music activities than the average U.S. listener.
Super Fans drive music sales in CDs, vinyl and merch
A closer look at the world's largest recorded music market – the U.S. – reveals the influential role that Super Fans play in driving the surge in sales for CDs, vinyl records, and music merchandise.
â— U.S. direct-to-consumer (D2C) market sales were up 38.6% in 2023 to amount 11.8m; vinyl D2C sales were up 39.8% year-over-year and CDs up 12.9%. Additionally, over 60% of all U.S. D2C sales were current titles.
â— 18% of U.S. music listeners are Super Fans.
â— Super Fans spend +76% more on music per month than the average U.S. music listener.
â— Super Fans spend +126% more on artist merch than the average music listener.
â— The average K-Pop fan is 50% more likely to purchase merch for a music event they did not attend and reported $30.20 as the optimum price for T-shirt merch.
Soundtracks and syncs are key sources for music discovery
â— Movie theater goer behaviors in relation to music:
â—‹ U.S. movie theater goers are 70% more likely to have attended a live concert in the last 12 months than the average U.S. consumer.
â—‹ 59% of U.S. movie theater goers say they like watching live streamed performances by music artists, which is 13% more than the general population.
â— Millennials who listen to predominantly Black music genres (Afropop, Gospel, Hip-Hop/Rap, Jazz, R&B and Reggae) are more likely to choose entertainment content that helps "connect with my culture/identity/values."
â— 42% of female Gen Z consumers are likely to discover new music through film and film soundtracks, which is 20% more than the general population.
The Music Plays Forever
Note: This section details the smaller number of publicly reported music acquisition deals this year (citing PitchBook) and offers a look at how interest rates affect loan costs. There is then an immediate case study of the ABBA Voyage Tour and how this avatar / virtual experience impacts streaming activity. To cite our own data for this executive summary we've included stats on US virtual attendees.
NEWS & PRESS
Nile Rodgers honoured with Outstanding Achievement Award at 65th MPA Christmas lunch
Iconic CHIC co-founder and global hitmaker recognised for five decades of musical innovation as the MPA celebrates a Disco-themed 2025 Christmas Lunch The Music Publishers Association (MPA) today presented the legendary Nile Rodgers with its prestigious Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting &...more
FAC & Amazon Music offer a step up boost to five more UK artists
Gigi Moss, lleo, Maya Lane, Nia Wyn and Richard Carter will all receive three days of studio time at The Breakthrough Lab - the bespoke, state-of-the-art production facility operated by Amazon Music and Metropolis Studios This expansion of Step Up Fund...more
‘You could go for years without knowing you can earn a penny’: Kojey Radical on songwriter royalties
Exclusive recording of 101 Part Time Jobs podcast with BRIT, Ivor Novello and Mercury Prize-nominated Kojey Radical out now. The launch of the Livelihood campaign from PRS for Music highlights the crucial need for greater education around live performance royalties. An...more
Over 137,000 Hate Crimes in England and Wales Last Year - Ask For Clive Leads the Charge Against Hate and Builds Inclusive Nightlife Spaces
Hate crime isn’t just a statistic, it’s a harsh reality affecting thousands daily. Over 137,000 hate crimes were recorded in England and Wales last year, though the true figure is closer to 176,000. Marginalised communities, including LGBTQ+ people and disabled...more
rekordbox for iOS/Android now supports SpotifyDJ on mobile devices – rekordbox for Mac/Windows supported
AlphaTheta announces that its DJ application rekordbox for iOS/Android is now compatible with Spotify. Spotify is the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service, offering over 100 million tracks and billions of playlists. With this update, in addition to rekordbox for...more
Rebecca Allen promoted to Chief Artist and Strategy Officer at Universal Music Group UK
ALLEN TAKES ON BRAND NEW LEADERSHIP ROLE FOLLOWING SUCCESS AT THE HELM OF EMI, DECCA, AND UMG UK’S AUDIENCE, MEDIA & STRATEGY DIVISION Universal Music Group UK (UMG UK), the UK’s leading music company, has today announced the promotion of Rebecca...more
Ticket Fairy announces deal to provide millions in funding for promoters worldwide
Ticket Fairy expands global financing, unlocking funding of up to £5M in the UK, €3M across Europe and $3M in the US, for venues, festivals and events promoters Ticket Fairy has announced a significant expansion of its global financing capabilities that...more
Warner Chappell unifies music publishing and production music sync teams under Rich Robinson
Well respected creative leader also adds Audio Asset team to remit Warner Chappell Music (WCM) today announced it has unified its global sync operations, bringing its frontline, catalog, and now Production Music sync teams together under Rich Robinson, EVP, Global Synchronization and...more
MIT Climate Machine with support from Coldplay, Warner Music Group, Live Nation, and Hope Solutions release first ever total emissions of live music in US and UK
Findings from over 80,000 shows across the U.K. and U.S. provide a foundation to decarbonize the future of live entertainment Click HERE for the full report The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Climate Machine (formerly part of the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative) with support from Coldplay,...more
2025 Through Music Video: Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild” Was the Biggest U.K. Premiere on Vevo
Skye Newman and Olivia Dean were also among the chart newcomers in the UK on Vevo A first for K-Pop, JENNIE’s “like JENNIE” was the most watched premiere on Vevo globally UK fans rewatch “Die With a Smile”, “BIRDS OF A FEATHER”,...more
It's Beginning to Sound A Lot Like Last Year - new analysis finds Christmas music is on repeat
New study finds 63% of the songs in the 2024 Christmas Top 40 were exactly the same as the year before In contrast no songs were repeated in any of the Christmas Top 40s between 2000 and 2005 Fairytale of New York has...more
Music Studios Business Rates
The Rt Hon Rachel Reeves 11 Downing Street London SW1A 2AA Dear Chancellor, 7 December 2025 As you are doubtless aware, the United Kingdom is famous for its music industry, and part of that is being home to the finest recording studios in the...more
Chancellor's budget sparks alarm as nightlife businesses say Treasury modelling fails reality, new flash poll shows
The lights are dimming on Britain’s night-time economy. From buzzing pubs to packed music venues, local businesses are sounding the alarm after a new flash survey of 345 night-time economy businesses revealed that the Chancellor’s latest Budget will hit them...more
Producer/musician/multi-instrumentalist Terrace Martin signs worldwide publishing deal with Peermusic
Global independent music publishing company, Peermusic, has signed producer, musician, and multi-instrumentalist Terrace Martin to a worldwide publishing administration deal as announced today by Jamie Cerreta, President U.S. and Canada, Peermusic and Tuff Morgan, Vice President of A&R, Peermusic. Through the deal, Peermusic will also represent Terrace Martin...more
Drowned in Sound Announces Partnership with Qobuz
25 year old music publication and ethical streaming platform partner to support mission-driven journalism and music discovery Drowned in Sound, the independent music publication, podcast and online community, has today announced a new partnership with Qobuz, the independently-owned high-quality music streaming...more
Saudi Arabia’s EIF and Legends Global score big joint venture announcement
Saudi Arabia’s Event Investment Fund (EIF) and Legends Global have announced a joint venture to support the Kingdom’s vision and investment in its fast-growing venue industry. This partnership will become the venue operator for venue projects within the Kingdom of Saudi...more
Angry Mob Music Signs Foreign Sub-Publishing Agreement With D-Version Music Publishing in Greece
Angry Mob Music, an independent music publisher boldly serving songwriters, composers, artists, and creatives, has signed a new sub-publishing agreement with D-Version Music Publishing to represent their catalog in Greece, bringing the Angry Mob Music catalog to the Greek market for...more
Universal Music Group announces new UMusic shops in New York and London
Today, Universal Music Group (UMG), the world-leader in music-based entertainment has announced the launch of two UMusic Shop locations in New York and London, dedicated to reimagining the fan experience. Each UMusic Shop offers exclusive custom collections and pieces inspired by UMG's iconic artists,...more
Jeff Sosnow named President of Reprise Records
Widely admired exec takes on new role alongside his post as EVP of A&R for Warner Records Warner Records Group today announced that Jeff Sosnow has been promoted to President, Reprise Records, in addition to continuing in his role as EVP...more
Openstage Puts Artists in Control of Fan Relationships by Uniting Once Fragmented Data
Artists struggle with one basic issue: Control. They don't know who their fans are. Even with large followings, most artists struggle to identify real fans, understand who is engaged, or build relationships over time. Fan information is scattered across ticketing platforms,...more
Seventeen live music sector organisations sign open letter to UK Prime Minister calling for urgent review of Business Rates
Dear Prime Minister, We are writing on behalf of the live events sector to urge you to review the devastating, unintended consequences for live venues of changes announced to the Business Rates system at the Budget. The combined impact of disproportionate, inappropriate,...more
Sony Music Publishing Signs Global Deal with BigXthaPlug
Sony Music Publishing today announced it has signed a global publishing deal with award-winning, multi-platinum selling breakout star BigXthaPlug. BigXthaPlug, aka Xavier Landum, has quickly established himself as one of music’s most powerful new storytellers. With an unmistakable sound that delves into...more
The Live Awards 2025 - Winners announced
The LIVE Awards 2025, which took place in association with Skiddle at The Troxy, in East London, on the evening of Wednesday 10th December, has published its full list of winners. Attended by over 500 guests including promoters, venues, agents, festivals,...more
IMPF Key Principles for CMO Licensing Models for Generative AI
Generative AI is rewriting the rules of the music ecosystem, at speed and scale we have never seen before. For independent publishers and the songwriters and composers they represent, this shift brings both opportunity and profound risk. At the core...more
beatBread Surpasses $100 Million in Deal Funding as Company Marks its Fifth Anniversary
1700 Deals Representing 67 Billion Streams Funded,With Platform Expanding To 42 Countries beatBread, a leader in funding for independent labels and musicians, today announced a series of major milestones that underscore its accelerating global scale and industry impact as it celebrates...more
BDi Music signs exclusive worldwide publishing deal with artist, producer and topliner Jack Critchlow
Critchlow has had significant support at radio at DSPs. BDi Music has signed emerging artist, producer and topliner Jack Critchlow to an exclusive worldwide publishing deal. Hailing from the North of England, 22-year-old Critchlow is one of the most exciting upcoming acts...more
Bucks Music Group appoints Rick Lansdell as COO alongside key promotions
Flash Taylor, James Paterson, Rhiannon Bramley, Maria McDonald, Sevana Mehrunnesa and Andrea Loizidou all step up at independent publisher. Bucks Music Group has announced the appointment of Rick Lansdell as the company’s Chief Operating Officer, as well as a number of...more
Tyler West and Chloe Burrows announced for KISS Breakfast Show
KISS have announced that Tyler West will be the new host of the KISS Breakfast Show. However, he won’t be alone as podcaster and TV personality, Chloe Burrows, will be joining KISS as his co-presenter. Tyler and Chloe will be taking over KISS Breakfast when,...more
Live Music Company DHP Family Brings Two Senior Women To The Board
Two senior colleagues have joined the board of DHP Family, the live music company behind a host of iconic live music venues, award-winning festivals and a thriving concerts business. Julie Tippins becomes a non-executive director as she steps away from the...more
Music League and Roxxem Win Music Tectonics’ 2025 Swimming with Narwhals Startup Competition
Music Tectonics is here to shout about the winners of its annual Swimming with Narwhals competition for innovative startups in music tech. These winners show how music is everywhere, shifting the status quo of media, tech, and entertainment. This year, two...more
THE HEADLINES
The 10 biggest AI music stories of 2025 (see Features)
Do pop stars write their own hits—and if not, who does? (see Analysis)
TikTok unveils its Year in Music Report (see Digital)
Coldplay, U2, Ed Sheeran named most popular touring artists of the millennium (see News)
King Gizzard, having pulled music from Spotify in protest, find genAI clones on the platform (see Digital)
UK parliamentarians join call to regulate most powerful AI systems (see News)
Martin Mills is trying to thwart a record industry takeover by Universal (see Features)
IMPF says members should reject AI deals that do not value songs properly (see News)
Which songs do we replay the most? (see Analysis)
Spotify Wrapped 2025 goes live (see Digital)
Daddy Yankee files lawsuit against former manager and third parties for alleged royalty scheme (see News)
EU touring: Impact of Brexit worsening, says UK Music report (see Reports)
ORCA released a report analysing the economic investments and social impact of nine leading independent record labels (see Reports)
Jorja Smith’s label requests share of royalties from ‘AI-cloned’ song (see News)
A creative nation is a thriving nation (see Opinion)