It is anticipated that the IFPI will release the usual results of income from recorded music for 2024. This month, smart insights from Midia Research have also presented their estimates.
One of the key findings from Midia in their Recorded share of the music marketreport, released on Thursday (March 13), is that: Global Recorded Music Growth has slowed down. Looking ahead, artists and copyright holders should prioritize expanding rights (monetizing Superfans) rather than merely increasing streaming revenue.
Statistics and Trends
According to the new Midia report, global recorded music revenues grew by 6.5% year to 36.2 billion dollars. This represents a decline from the 9.7% growth witnessed in 2023, according to Midia’s estimates.
This year’s data from MIDIA differs significantly from prior years, as the research firm noted, “due to adjustments in the recognition of income from non-major labels (including some double income removal, which also act as distributors), the overall historical income and market share have been slightly revised in comparison to earlier editions of this report.” Consequently, the primary market has shown a decrease in growth.
Midia states that the impact of music streaming is “diminishing,” marking 2024 as the first year when streaming’s contribution to total recorded music revenue did not increase.
Specifically, streaming income rose by 6.2% year to 22.2 billion dollars, in contrast to 10.3% growth in 2023. Streaming now accounts for 61.3% of total income, compared to 62.5% the previous year.
“The contribution of streaming to overall industry growth fell to 58.5% from 64.6% in 2023,” stated Midia.
“The long-anticipated slowdown in streaming income has manifested, despite a recent uptick in prices. The industry is now focusing on super-premium offerings and new monetization models to drive growth.”
Midia
The report further indicates that “the long-awaited deceleration of streaming income, despite recent price hikes, has become evident. The industry’s attention is shifting towards super-premium offerings and innovative monetization methods to sustain growth.”
Midia suggests future income growth will increasingly depend on expanded rights, encompassing merchandise, sponsorships, branding, and other revenue sources beyond music sales.
Recent MIDIA data corroborate this trend. Income from expanded rights reached 4.1 billion dollars in 2024, marking a 17% year increase from 3.5 billion dollars in 2023. This represents a much faster growth rate compared to the rest of the recorded music sector. Expanded rights accounted for 11.3% of recorded musical income in 2024, up from 10% in 2023.
(Midia includes expanded rights as part of recorded musical income. Without these rights, recorded music income in 2024 would total 32.1 billion dollars.)
Graphic: Midia
“In a climate of such economic uncertainty, achieving a 6.5% annual revenue growth is notable. However, the slowdown alongside persistent physical sector challenges highlights the ongoing market volatility,” commented Mark Malligan, Managing Director and Senior Music Analyst at Midia Research.
“This emphasizes the increasing importance of the rapidly growing segment dedicated to expanded rights. It serves not only as a crucial factor for monetizing fan engagement but also as a potential buffer against fluctuating streaming and physical sector revenue.”
Market Share Insights
In terms of market share, non-major labels have seen their income increase for the third consecutive year. According to Midia, their revenue rose by 8.4% year-on-year to $5.4 billion.
Among major labels, only Sony Music Group (SMG) increased its market share in 2024, with revenue growth of 10.2% resulting in a market share gain of 700 basis points to 21.7%. Midia reported that Universal Music Group, the world’s largest music company, lost 100 basis points of market share.
“SMG has been the fastest-growing major label this decade, with an overall growth of 73.9% from 2020 to 2024,” noted Midia.
“The rapidly growing segment dedicated to expanded rights is critical for the industry. It plays a decisive role in monetizing fandom and is quickly becoming a hedge against the volatility of streaming and physical sectors.”
Mark Malligan, Midia
Self-released artists are also witnessing growth in both revenue and the number of participants.
The MIDIA segment “Artists Direct,” which includes self-releasing artists utilizing platforms like CD Baby, DistroKid, and Tunecore, reported a 4.7% annual revenue increase, reaching $2.0 billion in 2024. This growth rate is slightly higher than the previous year’s 4.5%.
This is despite challenges such as minimum streaming thresholds noted by Midia that affect payout from streaming services.
Spotify introduced a new policy last year, ceasing payments for tracks that garnered fewer than 1,000 streams over the past 12 months. Similarly, other platforms with artist-focused payment models apply lower royalties for tracks that fail to meet these thresholds.
Nonetheless, DIY artists encounter another “headwind” in the form of a rapid increase in the artist population. Currently, there are 8.2 million self-releasing artists, growing at a rate three and a half times faster than their income growth.
“Monitoring the long tail of independent artists is crucial,” remarked Malligan.
“Measures like minimum income thresholds impact artists’ direct revenue and assist larger labels in slowing their erosion of market share. However, they do not halt the increasing number of competing releases by artists.”
Overall, the global recorded music income growth reported by MIDIA stands at 6.5% year, roughly matching the growth of Universal Music Group, for the year ending December 2024. Recorded music income at UMG grew by 6.4% year to €8.901 billion (9.63 billion dollars) in 2024.
Lucas focuses on the interaction between music and society. He specializes in how music influences and reflects cultures, analyzing the role of sound in social, political, and cultural events around the world.
