RIAA Releases 2023 Recorded Music Revenue Report

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has released its 2023 recorded music revenue figures. This year saw an 8% growth for a total of $17.1 billion, the highest figure in the reports history and the eighth consecutive year of growth.

Streaming made up 84% of the total revenue, totaling $14.4 billion. This year also saw an all time high of on-demand service paid subscriptions, totaling 96.8 million.

Courtesy of RIAA

“Recorded music keeps reaching new heights as labels’ ‘all of the above’ commitment to meet fans everywhere they want to be continued to pay off for the entire music community. Licensing of social networks, fitness apps, and short form video are adding new value […] and physical sales once again boomed, with vinyl records delivering yet another double-digit increase,” says RIAA Chairman & CEO Mitch Glazier.

He continues, “For artists, songwriters, and fans, this strong and sustained growth signals a time of incredible opportunity—with new formats, styles, and sounds rising up across innovative platforms and emerging ways to listen. As new services continue to get fully licensed at rates reflecting music’s incredible value, revenue for artists and songwriters will only continue to grow.”

The revenue from paid subscriptions in 2023 increased to $11.2 billion, making up 78% of streaming revenues and almost two-thirds of total revenues.

Physical formats are continuing to trend upwards, marking an 11% growth totaling $1.9 billion. Vinyl outsold CDs (43 million vs 37 million) for the year and grew 10%. This is the second time since 1987 vinyls outsold CDs.

“As music continues to soar and bring Americans together in new ways, new challenges continue to emerge—led by the mushrooming threat of generative artificial intelligence that, absent thoughtful and effective guardrails, put this dynamic growth and cultural reach at risk. No one has moved more quickly than the music industry to embrace responsible uses of this technology to create new possibilities and push human artistry forward,” says Glazier.

“Used responsibly, generative AI tools can take human creativity to new places. But irresponsibly, it could stifle a generation of artists across all mediums. RIAA and our members are committed to staying on the field every day, fighting with the music community for a pro-human, pro-creator future. Artists, songwriters, and their fans deserve nothing less.”

For RIAA’s full 2023 report, click here.

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Madison Hahnen

Madison Hahnen is Project Manager at MusicRow Magazine, where she helps carry out operational objectives and large-scale projects for the company. She also manages the company's subscriptions. Hahnen graduated from Bryant University in May of 2020 with a B.S. in Team & Project Management and a minor in communication studies. Prior to MusicRow, she held internship roles with Make Wake Artists and Song Suffragettes.

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