100+ Music Statistics in 2024 (Music Industry, Revenue, Growth Stats)

A complete insight into music statistics and facts. Find out:

• Music industry revenue and global popularity
• Artists’ demographics and earnings
• Positive effects of music on health and learning

Did you know that the music industry earned $25.9 billion in 2021? And that it took 22 years to finally surpass their record revenue from 1999?

Find out more interesting stats in the article below.

Contents:

• Music industry revenue
  • Music industry growth
  • Music industry by country
• Global music sales by distribution
• Music marketing statistics
• Music consumption data
• Live music industry statistics
• How do people listen to music
  • Common activities and places where people listen to music
  • Average listening time
  • Who listens to rap statistics
• How many artists signed to major labels
  • Stats on average independent musician
• How music affects your mood
• How does loud music damage your ears
• Music therapy
• How music education affects children

Key Music Statistics

• Global music industry earned $25.9 billion in 2021.
• With $8.5 billion in revenues, the Universal Music Group earned the most out of all music labels in 2021.
• The music industry revenue growth increased by 18.3% in 2021, which is the largest revenue jump in the last 22 years.
• 65% of total music industry revenue comes from streaming.
• On global average, people spent 18.4 hours per week listening to music.
• Independent artists earn $12.860 per year on average.
• Music therapy is a helpful tool against depression.
• Music enhances cognitive functions and learning abilities in children.

Music Industry Revenues

The global recorded music industry earned $25.9 billion in 2021.

Furthermore, it has finally surpassed the earnings from 1999 ($24.1 billion) after 2 decades of constant decline in recorded music revenue.

(IFPI)

Major music publisher revenues

Record companies earned a total of $5.77 billion in the US alone in 2020 (Statista 2).

Music Industry Growth

Global music industry revenues grew by 18.3% in 2021.

That’s the highest growth percentage since the 1990s.

From 1999 to 2021, the music industry has grown on average by 0.55% per year.

Here’s a table of music industry revenue growth per year:

Music streaming represented 65% of total industry revenue in 2021.

The share is rising by each year, being 61.9% in 2020. You can find more data in another article on music streaming.

(IFPI Report 2022)

Music industry earned 21.9% more from streaming subscriptions compared to the year before.

The growth is slowly slowing down but still being around 20% which is above average for most industries.

It has also earned 4% more in performance rights revenue and 16.1% from physical sales revenue.

Compared to 2020, where performance rights revenue declined by -10.1%, and physical sales revenue declined by -4.7%.

(IFPI Report 2022)

Music Industry by Country

Top 10 biggest music markets between 2021-2017:

The year 2018 is absent from IFPI reports.

Music revenue growth in regions around the world

Global Music Sales by Distribution

83% of music industry revenue in the US comes from music streaming.

That’s followed by physical copy sales at merely 11%. However, that’s up from 9% in 2020, indicating a small rise in the popularity of the physical media.

(RIAA)

There were 46.6 million CDs and 39.7 million vinyl records shipped in the US in 2021.

Furthermore, physical media sales increased slightly compared to 2020, with the biggest resurgence in LP vinyl sales.

(Statista 7)

Here’s a table of CD shipments per year:

Here’s a table of LP shipments per year:

Here’s a table of digital music downloads per year:

Who sold the most albums?

The Beatles sold 600 million albums worldwide.

We tabled the artists with the most sold albums:

Music Consumption Data

Music revenue from different segments between 2021-2017:

(Mostly from IFPI, except 2018 data from Domingo)

68% of videos in short-form video apps had something to do with lip-syncing or dancing to music.

(IFPI Engaging 2021)

Streaming service users’ most favorite features are the ability to choose their favorite songs, artists, and their own playlists.

• 68% of users search for a specific song several times per week.
• 62% listen to playlists they created several times per week.
• 62% are searching for a specific artist several times per week.

(IFPI Engaging 2021)

29% of people already used illegal or unlicensed ways to listen or download music.

14.4% used unlicensed social media platforms for music purposes.

(IFPI Engaging 2021)

193 million or 68% of the US population above the age of 12 listen to online music monthly.

That is 1 million US listeners more compared to 2020.

Furthermore, out of 193 million monthly listeners, 176 million of them listen to online music weekly. That’s 7 million more compared to 2020.

Find more data in the listening to music statistics.

Monthly US online music listeners based on demographic:

Average US listener above the age of 12 spent 16 hours and 14 minutes listening to online music weekly in 2021.

Here’s how much time people spend listening to music on a weekly and daily basis:

And here’s how much time people spend listening to music on a monthly and yearly basis:

In 2022, the average US listener spends 1 hour and 37 minutes per day listening to music.

Here’s a table of the average daily time spent listening to music per year:

How often do Americans listen to music with others?

Likeliness of listening to music with others (in the US):

Likeliness based on demographics (age):

Percentage of US listeners listening to online music in a car via smartphone:

Main music source in cars in the US:

74% of people listen to the radio primarily for music.

73% of listeners pick their favorite radio station based on the type of music it’s playing.

(IFPI Engaging 2021)

Music Industry Stats by Age of Musicians

Most musicians (54%) are older than 40 years.

Who’s an average musician? – Musician demographics

There are 20% female musicians compared to 80% male musicians in the US (Zippia).

69.9% of US musicians are white, representing the large majority.

Most common education levels among US musicians:

Live Music Industry Statistics / Live Concerts and Performances

Live music industry global revenue numbers.

• In 2020, the live music industry earned around $9.7 billion, resulting in a $30 billion loss that year.

In 2020, the live music industry sold 44.3 million tickets less than in 2019.

A huge drop in ticket sales was due to pandemic show cancellations and lockdowns.

(Statista 3)

Here’s a table of concert tickets sold per year:

Some big artists have moved to perform live concerts in games.

Worldwide music tours with the most sold tickets in 2021:

Worldwide music tours with the most sold tickets in 2020:

Statistics Related to the Music Industry

What’s the market share of music publishers?

Market share of the largest music publishers worldwide.

Market share of all major music labels, by years:

What Percentage of the Population Listens to Music?

Around 90% or 7.11 billion people listen to music worldwide.

According to the Nielsen Music 360 report, the percentage fluctuates between 90 and 93%.

Find more stats on listening to music.

(Nielsen Music Report 2017)

How do People Listen to Music?

Most people listen to music using music streaming services.

Find more related data on listening to music in our separate article.

Here’s a table

54% of US listeners listen to music via car radio.

People prefer listening to music between 4 pm and 8 pm (16:00-20:00).

This is the exact time most people end their work and come home in need of relaxation.

(HeadphonesAddict)

How Much Music per Day do People Listen to by Country?

People globally spent 2 hours and 36 minutes per day listening to music, based on 2021 data.

How much people listen to music around the globe on a weekly and daily basis:

In 2020, people globally spent 18 hours per week or 2.5 hours per day listening to music.

The numbers were converted to tell the exact time (22.9h in 22h 54min).

How Much Music Does an Average American Listen to Per Day?

An average American spent 3.8 hours per day listening to music in 2019.

Discover more interesting facts about people listening to music.

Who Listens to Rap Music Statistics

32% of US youngsters aged 18-29 listen to rap.

Rap is the least popular among white US audiences (7%), whereas it’s the most popular among black US audiences (35%).

(CBS News)

48% of US teenagers listened to rap music in 2018.

(Audio Monitor)

55% of Gen Z listeners in the US listened to rap in 2021.

Popularity went up from 34% in 2019.

54% of millennials in the US listened to rap in 2021.

Popularity went down from 56% in 2019.

(YPulse)

With 54%, rap music is the most popular among US listeners aged 20-24.

(Audio Monitor)

48.6% of gymgoers listen to rap during workouts.

In 57.4% of cases where gymgoers listened to rap, they managed to break their personal record. And it’s no surprise. Here’s the data how music enhances workout performance.

(FitRated)

Percentage of rap listeners in the US from 2017 to 2021.

Read more:

• The most popular music genres

How Many Artists Signed to Major Labels?

In 2017, major labels signed 658 artists, or roughly 2 artists daily.

That’s 12% more compared to 589 artists signed in 2014.

(MMLR)

Major labels spent $5.8 billion in supporting and marketing the artists in 2017.

A&R – “Artists & Repertoire sing an artist to a record label, which provides creative and commercial expertise, as well as financial support, to support the artist’s music creation.”

(IFPI 2)

Famous musicians which created their own record labels:

Stats On Average Independent Musician

US musicians positioned somewhere “in the middle” earn between $20.000 to $25.000 per year.

The median musician in Canada earns around $40.950 CAD per year, which equals $30.842 US.

(Music Industry How To)

On average, an independent artist earns $12.860 per year.

Compared to signed artists, who earn on average $23.913 per year.

(MIDiA)

There were 1,560 independent artists in the US in May 2019.

83% of independent artists value having full creative control over their music.

13% are neutral, and 4% disagree.

Compared to label artists, 74% agree, 13% are neutral, and 13% disagree.

On the other hand, 73% of independent artists are open to outside influence and direction of their music if that means greater success. 18% are neutral, and 9% disagree.

Around 66% of label artists are open to influence, 17% are neutral, and 17% disagree.

(MIDiA)

Statistics on How Music Affects Your Mood

Happy music stimulates your brain to start producing chemicals like dopamine and serotonin, responsible for the sensation of joy.

Also, calming music relaxes your body and reduces stress.

(PPL PRS)

What are the Benefits of Listening to Classical Music?

Listening to classical music has numerous benefits.

• Reduces stress
• Improves sleep quality
• Boosts your memory
• Lowers your blood pressure
• Makes you more creative
• Reduces pain
• Helps with depression
• Makes you more productive

(Takelessons)

Classical music may reduce stress by lowering cortisol levels.

Another study focused on pregnant women who felt less stressed and anxious when listening to classical music every week.

(WNO)

Concentration and self-discipline can be improved by listening to classical music.

Kids that listen to classical music had fewer problems with concentration and were able to listen more carefully.

(PRS)

Classical music can reduce crime.

In the study, classical music was played over underground train stations over a period of 18 months.

The result was a reduction in vandalism by 37%, robberies by 33%, and attacks on staff by 25%.

Here’s a table of the effect of classical music on crime:

Statistics on How Music Helps Students

Students studying fractions alongside listening to music scored 100% better results compared to those who studied fractions normally.

(Children’s Music Workshop)

Students with music participation scored higher on math and verbal tests than those without music participation.

On average, students scored 63 points higher on verbal tests and 44 points higher on math tests.

(Children’s Music Workshop)

Engaging in music helps students score higher average grades.

The study also showed that the longer the musical training, the bigger the effect on academic performance (ArtsEdSearch).

Even students lagging behind other classmates improved or even surpassed them after visiting music instructions for 7 months. Their mathematical scores increased by 22% (Children’s Music Workshop).

78% of Americans agree that learning a musical instrument helps to perform better in other subjects.

(Children’s Music Workshop)

How does Loud Music Damage Your Ears?

Loud noise vigorously shakes the hair cells in your cochlea, causing them to break and stop working. Once that happens, the cells don’t grow back, leaving you with permanent hearing loss.

(CDC)

40 million US adults between the ages of 20-69 suffer from noise-induced hearing loss.

Meaning they damaged their hearing unnaturally, either by working someplace loud or by listening to loud music.

Furthermore, 50% of US adults with hearing loss don’t work in a loud environment. Suggesting that the damage occurred during recreational activities.

(Healthy Hearing)

Music Therapy

What is the Effectiveness of Music Therapy?

Music therapy, in combination with standard treatment, helps reduce depression in adults.

There are around 1,004 studies written between the years 2000 and 2019 that speak positively about music therapy.

(Frontiers in Psychology)

The study showed rapid improvements in depression reduction in patients who received psychotherapy and music therapy simultaneously.

After 6 months, the standard group’s score (the one with only psychotherapy) dropped by -7 on MADRS (depression score), and the music therapy group’s score dropped by -10.5.

Similar story with patients with both depression and anxiety. The standard group’s anxiety score (HADS) dropped by -2.4, whereas the music therapy group’s score dropped by -4.1.

Music changes the brain waves to match the music’s tempo.

Faster music shifts you into a state of high alert thinking and better concentration, whereas slower music puts you into a meditative state.

The research also suggests that music can help your brain change its waves speed on its own, even after the listening session is over.

(ASA)

Singing lyrics can be helpful to people recovering from a stroke or brain injury of the parts responsible for speech.

By patients singing the lyrics, first with music and later without it, they exercise the damaged parts of the brain, speeding up the recovery.

(Health Harvard)

What are the Negative Effects of Music Therapy?

Particular music can irritate people or make them feel uncomfortable.

Music can sometimes trigger unwanted emotions or memories, further worsening a person’s emotional well-being.

(Cancer Research UK)

How Many People are in Music Therapy?

Around 1.6 million people worldwide receive music therapy each year.

The number is constantly growing due to expanding recognition of music therapy in media and word-of-mouth recommendations.

(Metro Music Therapy)

There are over 26,651 music therapists working in the US (Zippia).

They require 1200 clinical hours of practice to be able to work with music therapy as credentialed professionals.

(Metro Music Therapy)

Interesting Music Therapy Stats

Everett Thayer Gaston is recognized as the father of music therapy.

He was a trained clinical psychologist, born in Oklahoma on July 4, 1901. During his work between the 1940s and 1960s, he helped popularize the music therapy profession.

(Sam’s Fans)

Almost 4/5 of 26,651 music therapists in the US are women.

78.1% represent women, whereas the other 21.9% represent men. Their average age is 44 years.

Furthermore, out of them, 27% are from the LGBTQ community.

(Zippia)

Most musical therapists in the US are white (67.6%).

Followed by 13.3% of black or African American and 11% of Latino or Hispanic therapists.

Musical therapists’ average annual salary is $48.978.

The average starting salary is $37.000, whereas the highest one is $68.743.

Despite having more women working in the field, they earn 5% less than men.

(Zippia)

How Music Education Affects Children?

Music was found to enhance cognitive functions and learning abilities in children.

Music education improves so-called executive functions such as planning, working memory, inhibition, and flexibility.

(Frontiers in Psychology 2)

Music helps younger children stimulate reading skills, mathematical learning, and language acquisition.

It stimulates child development in all areas, and better prepares them for learning in school (Unicef).

Even educators are taught to include music education in their programs as it helps children learn better and also develop social skills (GPE).

Music has a soothing and uplifting effect on unborn babies.

Pregnant women should listen to soothing music like lullabies, happy melodies, and even the classical genre. It’s best to do so after 24 weeks of pregnancy when the baby’s ears develop to recognize sounds.

(Unicef)

Are Schools with Music Programs Better than Schools Without It?

Kids are more successful in schools that teach music.

Those schools have a 90.2% graduation rate and a 93.9% attendance rate.

That’s compared to schools that lack music lessons, with an average of 72.9% graduation and 84.9% attendance rate.

Schools in the US that put a lot of focus on arts (especially music) produce the highest academic achievements.

On average, the best schools spend 20-30% of the day exposing students to arts.

(Children’s Music Workshop)

Shrinking school budgets endanger music education programs.

And that’s despite evidence suggesting music education positively affects learning abilities in children.

(IES)

Countries with the best academic results highly value music education.

Countries with a long tradition of teaching music in elementary and middle schools are:

• Hungary
• Netherlands
• Japan

(Children’s Music Workshop)

Around 7000 schools in the US lack music education.

These are primarily schools that serve children from black and immigrant communities, as well as those with low income.

(Save the Music Foundation)

Sources: IFPI, IFPI 2, IFPI Report 2022, IFPI Report 2021, IFPI Engaging 2021, IFPI Listening 2019, IFPI Report 2019, IFPI Report 2018, IFPI Report 2017, Statista, Statista 2, Statista 3, Statista 4, Statista 5, Statista 6, Statista 7, Audio Monitor, BLS, RIAA, Macro Trends, MBW, MBW2, MBW 3, MBW 4, Domingo, Edison Research, Emarketer, Zippia, MRC Data Report 2021, MRC Data Report 2020, Data Pollstar, Data Pollstar 2, Nielsen Music Report 2019, Nielsen Music Report 2018, Nielsen Music Report 2017, CBS News, YouGovAmerica, HeadphonesAddict, YPulse, FitRated, MMLR, UDiscover Music, Music Industry How To, MIDiA, PPL PRS, Takelessons, WNO, PRS, Independent, Children’s Music Workshop, ArtsEdSearch, CDC, Healthy Hearing, Frontiers in Psychology, Frontiers in Psychology 2, Clearvue Health, ASA, Harvard Health, Cancer Research UK, Metro Music Therapy, Sam’s Fans, Unicef, GPE, NAMM Foundation, IES, Save the Music Foundation

Conclusion

These were the most complete statistics on the music industry, how people listen to music, and how music affects people’s well-being.

With a steady growth of the music industry and more well-known positive effects on humans, music will become an even greater part of our everyday lives.

Hopely you’ve found everything you looked for. If you want to know more, or if there’s something we’ve missed, let us know down in the comments.