IFPI ‘Global Music Report’: Australia Remains In Top 10 as Worldwide Revenue Grows 10.2%

The recorded music business extended its winning streak in 2023, as revenue ballooned by double-digits for the ninth successive year of growth.

Global revenue marched to US$28.6 billion in 2023, up 10.2% from the 2022 result, according to the IFPI’s Global Music Report, presented Thursday morning (March 21) in London.

Every region posted gains — thanks to the power of streaming.

The U.S. and Canada, which collectively represents the largest piece of the global recorded music revenue pie (40.9%), posted results up 7.4% against the previous-year figure.

Music fans in Europe (up 8.9%), Asia (up 14.9%), Latin America (up 19.4%), Middle East & North Africa (14.4%) and Sub-Saharan Africa (24.7%) all came to the streaming party, for solid revenue gains.

Australia did its part. Indeed, growth accelerated in Australia where revenue lifted by 11.3% year-on-year, as the territory locked in another global top 10 spot, at No. 10.

The region of Australasia (which includes New Zealand, where revenue increased by 8.%) generated revenue growth of 10.8% in 2023, up from the 8.3% lift reported in 2022. The engine room for regional growth last year was subscriptions from streaming platforms, up 13.5%.

The IFPI Global Music Report 2024, the definitive guide to the global recorded music industry, is out now
 
Find out how the partnership between record company and artist continues to define and shape music in all its extraordinary forms around the world
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— IFPI (@IFPI_org) March 21, 2024

The IFPI’s report is the recording industry’s annual physical. Based on the results, the recording industry is in rude health as streaming platforms flexed their considerable muscle, and several physical formats made gains.

Last year, the number of paid subscriptions for DSPs passed 500 million for the first time, generating almost half (48.9%) of total revenue for a 11.2% year-on-year improvement.

Earlier in the week, Spotify announced it alone had paid out a record $9 billion to the music industry, roughly 30% of the global total across all brands, all formats. 

Vinyl and, to a lesser degree cassettes, pushed worldwide physical revenue ahead by 13.4%, marking the third consecutive year in which both digital and physical revenues simultaneously lifted.

Also, performance rights income was up (9.5%), sync grew (4.7%) while digital downloads diminished (-2.6%).

Subscription price increases contributed “significantly” to total revenue growth, notes John Nolan, IFPI’s chief financial officer and interim joint head of the trade association.

“The figures in this year’s report reflect a truly global and diverse industry,” he explains, “with revenues growing in every market, every region and across virtually every recorded music format.”

The industry’s dark days are in a distant past, though the industry must continue to adapt or contract, industry reps said during a panel discussion in London which featured guest speakers Dennis Kooker, president, global digital business, Sony Music Entertainment; Adam Granite, executive VP, market development, Universal Music Group; Kabiru Bello, VP, global A&R, Warner Music Group, and others.

The emergence of generative AI presents a “new, rapidly developing challenge,” notes the report. “Many generative AI developers take music without authorisation or compensation and build consumer facing products that compete directly with artists’ work.”

The sustained growth of the recorded music market is “encouraging,” comments IFPI’s chief legal officer and interim joint head of IFPI, Lauri Rechardt, “but it’s also right for us to acknowledge the challenges the industry faces, including streaming fraud, digital piracy in all its forms and, of course, the threat from the abuse of generative artificial intelligence if it is not developed responsibly and with respect for artists’ and labels’ rights.”

IFPI’s Global Music Report 2024 – State of the Industry captures official data on recorded music revenues worldwide, alongside insight and analysis on industry trends, developments and the hottest acts on the planet (no surprises here. It’s Taylor Swift, again). 

Download the document here.