Despite streaming services continuing to dominate the business of recorded music, there’s still very much a place for physical media in that sector. The Recording Industry of America said in an annual report [PDF] that sales of vinyl records rose for the 18th straight year in the US to $1.4 billion — the highest revenue for that format since 1984, when CDs started to emerge.
Vinyl accounted for nearly three-quarters of physical format revenue in 2024. It was the third consecutive year that there were more shipments of vinyl records than CDs — 44 million vs. 33 million. It perhaps helps vinyl’s case that the RIAA has factored in sales figures directly from indie labels for the first time this year. And that Taylor Swift released thirty-six variants of her most recent album, The Tortured Poets Department, including eight vinyl editions.
Many fans prefer to own physical copies of music for many reasons, such as their belief that vinyl offers better audio quality and an all-round superior listening experience to streaming services, as well as a way to perhaps better support artists. Scouring the racks at a record store is a fun pastime as well. Vinyl records and CDs are also a hedge against the possibility of music vanishing from streaming services if rights agreements expire or an artist decides to yank their music from a platform.
Still, streaming services hit a new milestone last year. The RIAA reports that the average number of paid subscriptions for the year hit 100 million in the US for the first time. That’s a three percent increase from 2023.
Revenue from paid subscriptions rose by five percent to $11.7 billion, with the total revenue from streaming (factoring everything from ad-supported services to fitness apps) growing four percent to $14.9 billion. Streaming accounted for 84 percent of recorded music revenue for the third year running.
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