Music streaming revenue has become the largest measurable engine of recorded music markets in many territories. Global streaming revenue rose from US$8.7 billion in 2018 to US$20.4 billion in 2024, while paid subscription accounts reached 837 million in 2025. The figures below separate trade revenue from retail value, identify the measurement period, and distinguish revenue from usage indicators.
Contents
- Global streaming revenue reached new highs
- Subscription and ad-supported streaming
- Regional concentration and growth
- United States revenue by format
- United Kingdom milestones
- Australia and Germany benchmarks
- France revenue and usage
Global streaming revenue reached new highs
IFPI reports that global streaming revenue increased every year from 2018 through 2024. These figures describe recorded-music trade revenue, rather than consumer retail spending, unless stated otherwise.
| Year | Global streaming revenue |
|---|---|
| 2018 | US$8.7 billion |
| 2019 | US$10.6 billion |
| 2020 | US$12.6 billion |
| 2021 | US$15.5 billion |
| 2022 | US$17.3 billion |
| 2023 | US$19.0 billion |
| 2024 | US$20.4 billion |
The 2018–2024 series comes from the IFPI Global Music Report 2025. The 2024 result was followed by global streaming revenue surpassing US$22 billion in 2025, according to the IFPI Global Music Report 2026. The 2025 figure is reported as a threshold rather than an exact total, so it should not be treated as directly comparable to the more precise earlier amounts.
Streaming represented 69.0% of global recorded music revenue in 2024. That share included subscription streaming at 52.2% and ad-supported streaming at 17.7%, according to IFPI. Together, the two categories show how strongly recorded music revenue had shifted toward internet delivery by that measurement year.
Subscription and ad-supported streaming
The two principal streaming models did not grow at the same rate in 2024. Global subscription streaming revenue grew 9.5%, while ad-supported streaming revenue grew 1.2%. Paid subscription streaming accounts reached 752 million users globally in 2024.
The later IFPI report places paid subscription streaming revenue at 52.4% of global recorded music revenue in 2025. It also reports 8.8% global growth in paid subscription streaming revenue and 837 million paid streaming subscription accounts in that year. The 2024 and 2025 account totals are user counts, not revenue totals; they indicate the scale of the paying audience but do not establish an average price or revenue per account.
The difference between subscription and advertising growth is also visible in country-level reporting. In the United Kingdom, paid-subscription streaming revenue grew 5.9% in 2024, compared with 8.9% growth for ad-supported audio streaming. In France, subscription-streaming revenue grew 11.4% in 2024, while advertising-funded streaming revenue grew 6%. These national percentages use each market’s own reporting definitions and local measurement context.
Regional concentration and growth
Streaming accounted for 87.8% of recorded music revenue in Latin America in 2024 and 99.5% in the Middle East and North Africa, according to IFPI. In 2025, the corresponding shares were 88.1% for Latin America and 97.5% for the Middle East and North Africa. These are shares of recorded music revenue, not the percentage change in streaming revenue.
Europe presents a different combination of market share and subscriber penetration. Approximately 66% of European recorded music revenue came from streaming in 2025. Paid music streaming subscriber penetration was 27% in the European Union, compared with 54% in the United States and 47% in the United Kingdom, according to IFPI’s European market report.
| Market or region | Streaming or paid-streaming indicator | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Latin America | 87.8% of recorded music revenue | 2024 |
| Middle East and North Africa | 99.5% of recorded music revenue | 2024 |
| European recorded music | Approximately 66% from streaming | 2025 |
| European Union | 27% paid subscriber penetration | 2025 |
| United States | 54% paid subscriber penetration | 2025 |
| United Kingdom | 47% paid subscriber penetration | 2025 |
The regional figures should be read as measures of market structure. They do not say that every listener pays for a subscription, and they should not be combined with national retail totals without checking the underlying definitions.
United States revenue by format
The RIAA reports U.S. 2025 streaming revenue at wholesale value, net after returns. Total streaming revenue reached US$9,474.5 million and increased 3.1% during the year. Premium paid-subscription streaming generated US$5,881.1 million, with 106.5 million premium paid-subscription accounts. Premium paid-subscription revenue increased 6.8%.
The remaining reported wholesale categories were US$495.2 million from non-premium paid-subscription streaming, US$1,789.3 million from free streaming, and US$1,309.0 million from other streaming. Because these categories are reported at wholesale value, they should not be compared as though they were consumer-facing retail receipts.
The RIAA 2024 Year-End Revenue Report uses estimated retail value for its headline 2024 streaming figures. On that basis, U.S. streaming revenue reached US$14.9 billion, including US$11.7 billion in paid-subscription streaming. Paid subscriptions represented 79% of U.S. streaming revenue in 2024. The same report recorded US$1.0 billion in limited-tier subscription revenue, US$1.8 billion in ad-supported on-demand music revenue, and US$1.4 billion in digital and customized radio music revenue.
The 2024 retail-value figures and 2025 wholesale-value figures describe different valuation bases. They are useful for understanding the U.S. market, but the totals should not be presented as a single like-for-like year-over-year series.
United Kingdom milestones
The British Phonographic Industry reported combined UK subscription, ad-supported, and video-streaming revenue of £1.02 billion in 2024. Streaming represented 68.1% of UK recorded music revenue, and total UK streaming revenue grew 5.7%.
Paid-subscription streaming revenue reached £875.5 million and grew 5.9% in 2024. Paid subscriptions represented more than 86% of the UK streaming market. UK ad-supported audio streaming revenue reached £77.9 million and grew 8.9%.
These figures show why the market can have a dominant subscription component while still recording faster percentage growth in a smaller advertising category. The percentages describe growth during 2024; they do not mean advertising generated more money than subscriptions.
Australia and Germany benchmarks
Australia’s wholesale recorded music market reached A$717 million in 2024, according to ARIA. Australian subscription services generated A$509 million, representing 71.0% of the total music market. Subscription-service revenue was 8.9% higher in 2024 than in 2023, while ad-supported streaming revenue grew 1.9%.
Germany’s reported figures use retail turnover or industry-revenue measures as specified by the German music industry association. German streaming retail turnover grew 4.1% in 2025, exceeded €2 billion, and represented 84.4% of music-industry revenue. The association separately reported that German audio-streaming sales grew 12.6% in 2024 and that audio streaming generated 78.1% of German music-industry revenue in 2024. The 2025 German market report and 2024 report provide the respective benchmarks.
Australia’s subscription share and Germany’s streaming share are not identical measures: Australia’s percentage is stated against the total music market, while Germany’s percentages refer to music-industry revenue under the source’s market definition. Local currencies and valuation methods also remain in place.
France revenue and usage
France’s recorded music market reached €1.031 billion in 2024. Streaming revenue reached €664 million and increased 9.5%, according to SNEP’s 2024 recorded-music market report. Subscription-streaming revenue grew 11.4%, while advertising-funded streaming revenue grew 6%.
France also reported usage indicators that help put the revenue total in context. Streaming services recorded 138 billion listens in 2024. There were 27 million streaming users, including 80% from subscriptions, and paid music-platform penetration was 25.9%.
The listen count and user count are not revenue measures. They describe activity and audience composition, while the €664 million figure describes streaming revenue. The 80% subscription figure identifies the share of reported users associated with subscriptions; it does not provide a subscription price, a per-user payout, or a direct conversion from listens to revenue.
Across these markets, the consistent pattern is a high and growing contribution from streaming, with meaningful differences in geography, format, valuation basis, and reporting period. Those distinctions are essential when comparing music streaming revenue statistics across countries or across global reports.