Music Industry Hits 1 Trillion Streams in Just Three Months in 2023, Fastest Pace Ever

In just three months, the global music industry has surpassed 1 trillion streams, according to Luminate's 2023 Midyear Report.

With this accomplishment, the prior year's record for the quickest speed in a calendar year has been surpassed by one month. The research demonstrates a noteworthy growth in worldwide streams of 30.8% over the prior year, demonstrating the expanding importance of the global music sector, as per an AP News report.

Non-English Music Genres Dominate

Additionally, according to Luminate's research, two out of five Americans, or 40%, listen to music not in English. A startling 69% of American music fans also value music from performers from other countries.

Latin music and K-pop placed top of US listeners' preferences for non-Anglophonic music in Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean, Italian, German, and Arabic.

The top 10,000 most streamed songs (audio and video) during the first half of 2023 were dominated by Spanish and Korean language music, according to Jaime Marconette, senior director of music analytics and industry relations at Luminate. Since 2021, the share of Spanish-language music in the top 10,000 ascended by 3.6%. On the other hand, English-language music's share has dropped 4.2%.

K-pop artists occupy six of the top 10 positions, indicating the ardent support that K-pop fans have for tangible music formats.

Findings from Luminate show that K-pop enthusiasts significantly prefer tangible media. Compared to the typical American music listener, they are 46% more likely to buy CDs and 69% more likely to buy vinyl in the next year. Unexpectedly, 1 in 4 K-pop fans bought a cassette tape last year, displaying their excitement for various musical genres.

Music Fans Also Love Miley Cyrus, Vinyl LP

According to Luminate's study, Miley Cyrus' single "Flowers" became the most streamed music across on-demand platforms in the first half of 2023, while Morgan Wallen's album "One Thing at a Time" emerged as the most well-liked album, according to Billboard. With over 2.4 billion radio listener impressions, "Flowers" dominated radio airways.

The research also emphasizes the vinyl market's ongoing expansion, with sales of vinyl LPs rising by 21.7% in the first half of 2023 compared to the same time in 2012, per Variety. This impressive rise confirms vinyl's continued appeal and its hegemonic status in music sales.

After the spectacular increase in sales during the pandemic, there were fears that the industry had achieved its natural level. However, Luminate's Midyear Music Report shows that vinyl continues to be popular.

Recent music industry statistics illustrate that the vinyl record is still a popular medium, highlighting music lovers' lasting allure and zeal for LPs' rich analog experience.