Mr Viral
Despite paid listening’s well-documented growth slowdown in the U.S., consumers’ overall recorded music spending increased by double digits during 2024, according to a new report. Photo Credit: Valentin Balan
There’s more to the U.S. music market story than a streaming plateau – at least according to a new analysis of across-the-board consumer spending during 2024.This latest year-end breakdown comes from MusicWatch and follows separate recorded revenue recaps from the RIAA (one for the core industry, another for Latin music in particular), Luminate, and others yet.
As many know, these 2024 reports underscored (among different things) the States’ paid-listening slowdown. Luminate described a bunch of consumption stats illustrating the “maturing” nature of U.S. streaming growth, and the RIAA identified a 3.3% YoY recorded revenue uptick in the U.S.
Of course, the majors’ respective earnings reports have reflected the trend, which is fueling an aggressive embrace of superfan monetization and more.
But as described by MusicWatch, from the perspective of consumers’ overall music spending, there’s “[n]o slowdown” to speak of.Even so, the appropriate fan-focused breakdown begins by acknowledging the States’ much-discussed subscription-expansion slip. Notwithstanding this dip, though, the document points to a 10% across-the-board increase in recorded music spending for 2024.
The percentage refers to growth on a per-capita basis ($112, up from $102 in 2023), the report indicates. Additionally, per-capita livestream spending is said to have jumped 27% YoY to $4.95.
Behind the figures, 132 million Americans paid for music subscriptions of some kind in 2024, per the resource.Representing about half those between the ages of 13 and 70, the total includes subs from on-demand listening platforms like Spotify and Apple Music as well as satellite and internet radio.
In other words, plenty of U.S. consumers are paying for digital music access in one form or another, according to the text. (The RIAA previously attached 100 million paid on-demand subs to 2024, and DMN Pro maintains a market-share database for DSPs in the U.S.)
Shifting to the physical side, the report notes that 19 million Americans “bought a new vinyl record” during 2024.When considered alongside the RIAA’s shipment data, that means the format’s diehard fans (or at least ultra-dedicated supporters of certain artists) are still purchasing multiple products apiece on average.
Finally, despite discussions about a slowdown for festivals and the broader crowd-based sector, the report suggests that live entertainment spending spiked last year.
Specifically, the text emphasizes a 17% YoY boost for consumers’ per-capita live music spending in 2024, to $281.08.
Also as laid out by the report, strong demand for certain tours more than offset the difficulties encountered by many festivals and some concert series; 56% of the U.S. population bought tickets in 2024, up from 51% in 2023, per the analysis.
Meanwhile, in keeping with the percentages, music-related merch spending is said to have hiked a staggering 45% in 2024.
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