The US surpassed the 100 million paid subscriber mark for music streaming services for the first time last year, according to a new report by the American Recording Industry Association (RIAA).
The number of subscribers increased from 96.8 million in 2023, an increase of approximately 3% from the previous year. According to a report from the RIAA, these numbers discount limited tier services with device access restrictions and catalog availability restrictions, and count multi-user subscriptions (such as family planning) as one.
According to data from Digital Music News, Spotify dominates the US market with a market share of 36%, followed by Apple Music at 30.7%. Spotify said unlike RIAA metrics, Spotify is likely to break down multi-user subscriptions, according to a Bloomberg report published in January.
Revenue from streaming accounted for the majority of 84% of total music revenue in 2024. The $14.9 billion revenue from streaming came from paid subscriptions, advertising support services, digital and customized radio, social media platforms and digital fitness apps. The next big driver of music revenue was a copy of physical sales, which accounted for 11% of total revenue.
The report states revenue from paid subscriptions jumped at $11.7 billion, 5% year-on-year, at 79% of overall streaming revenue.
Over the past few years, all services, including Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube, have hiked the prices of subscriptions. It could also be a factor that contributes to increased revenue through paid subscriptions.