Audio consumer spending is measured most consistently through recorded-music industry revenue, while listening surveys show how widely people use audio media. The figures below separate global and U.S. markets, revenue from consumer behavior, and observed results from estimates and survey measures.
Key Audio Consumer Spending Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- In 2024, global recorded-music revenue reached $29.6 billion, up 4.8% from 2023.
- In 2024, streaming represented 69.0% of global recorded-music revenue.
- At the end of 2024, 752 million paid music-subscription accounts were recorded globally.
- In 2024, subscription streaming represented 52.2% of global recorded-music revenue.
- In 2024, the United States generated $17.7 billion in recorded-music revenue at estimated retail value.
- In 2024, U.S. streaming revenue reached $14.8777 billion, up 3.6% from 2023.
- In 2024, U.S. paid on-demand music subscriptions averaged 100.0 million.
- In 2024, U.S. paid subscriptions generated $11.7 billion, up 5% year over year.
- In 2024, U.S. physical music revenue totaled $2.0145 billion, up 5.4%.
- In 2024, U.S. vinyl albums sold 44 million units, compared with 33 million CDs.
- In 2024, U.S. digital-download revenue was $369.7 million, down 14.9%.
- In January 2025, 70% of Americans age 12 and older had ever listened to a podcast.
- In January 2025, 55% of Americans age 12 and older were monthly podcast consumers.
- In January 2025, 73% of Americans age 12 and older had consumed a podcast in audio or video form, an estimated 210 million people.
- In January 2025, 33% of weekly U.S. podcast listeners used YouTube most often to listen.
Contents
- Global recorded-music spending scale and growth
- Streaming, subscriptions and advertising statistics
- U.S. paid audio services and digital formats
- U.S. physical music and download spending
- Podcast, online-audio and smart-speaker adoption
- Audio spending trends and market mix
Global Audio Consumer Spending Statistics: Recorded-Music Scale and Growth
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) reported $29.6 billion in global recorded-music revenue in 2024, a 4.8% year-over-year increase. This is an industry-revenue measure, not a census of household spending on speakers, headphones, radio, podcasts or other audio products. IFPI Global Music Report 2025: State of the Industry
| Period | Global recorded-music revenue | Measurement note |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | $21.9 billion | Historical industry revenue |
| 2014 | $12.9 billion | Historical low point in the supplied series |
| 2021 | $23.5 billion | Historical industry revenue |
| 2022 | $25.6 billion | Historical industry revenue |
| 2023 | $28.2 billion | Historical industry revenue |
| 2024 | $29.6 billion | Observed; up 4.8% year over year |
The same IFPI series places 1999 revenue at $21.9 billion and 2014 revenue at $12.9 billion, before the later growth cycle. Revenue then reached $23.5 billion in 2021, $25.6 billion in 2022 and $28.2 billion in 2023.
The report notes that historical definitions and coverage can change over time.
Regional growth was strongest in several emerging recorded-music markets during 2024:
- The Middle East and North Africa recorded 22.8% growth in recorded-music revenue in 2024.
- Sub-Saharan Africa recorded 22.6% growth in recorded-music revenue in 2024.
- Latin America recorded 22.5% growth in recorded-music revenue in 2024.
These are regional industry-revenue growth rates, not household spending growth rates.
Audio Spending Statistics for Streaming, Subscriptions and Advertising
Streaming dominated the global recorded-music mix in 2024. Streaming accounted for 69.0% of global recorded-music revenue, including 52.2% from subscription streaming and 17.7% from ad-supported streaming. IFPI Global Music Report 2025: State of the Industry
| Global recorded-music category, 2024 | Share of revenue | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription streaming | 52.2% | Revenue share |
| Ad-supported streaming | 17.7% | Revenue share |
| Physical formats | 16.4% | Revenue share |
| Performance rights | 9.7% | Rights revenue |
| Downloads and other digital | 2.8% | Combined category |
| Synchronization | 2.2% | Licensing revenue |
Global subscription-streaming revenue grew 9.5% in 2024, while paid music-subscription accounts reached an estimated 752 million at year-end. Accounts are not necessarily unique people, and the figure does not establish average spending per subscriber.
IFPI also characterized paid streaming as contributing more than half of global recorded-music revenue in 2024. IFPI Industry Data: Global growth by region 2024
Advertising is different from direct out-of-pocket payment: ad-supported streaming represented 17.7% of global recorded-music revenue, but that revenue is not necessarily paid directly by listeners. Performance rights and synchronization are also industry revenue categories rather than direct household purchases.
U.S. Audio Consumer Spending Statistics for Paid Services and Digital Formats
RIAA reported $17.7 billion in U.S. recorded-music revenue at estimated retail value in 2024, up 3%. Streaming revenue reached $14.8777 billion, up 3.6%, and represented 84% of U.S. recorded-music revenue for the third consecutive year. RIAA 2024 Year-End Revenue Report
| U.S. measure | 2024 result | Change or share |
|---|---|---|
| Total recorded-music revenue | $17.7 billion | Up 3% |
| Streaming revenue | $14.8777 billion | Up 3.6%; 84% of revenue |
| Paid-subscription service revenue | $11.7 billion | Up 5%; 79% of streaming revenue |
| Average paid on-demand subscriptions | 100.0 million | Up from 96.8 million in 2023 |
| Limited-tier paid-subscription revenue | $998.3 million | Down 2.3% |
| Ad-supported on-demand streaming | $1.8319 billion | Down 1.8%; 10% of revenue |
| Digital and customized radio | $1.4 billion | Up 3% |
The average number of U.S. paid on-demand music subscriptions increased 3% from 96.8 million in 2023 to 100.0 million in 2024. RIAA excludes limited-tier services from this series, and multi-user plans count as one subscription.
RIAA also reported $1.054 billion in SoundExchange distributions, up 4.9%, and $306.5 million in other ad-supported streaming revenue, down 3.5%. These measures concern payments to performers and copyright holders or statutory-service categories, so they should not be treated as direct consumer out-of-pocket totals.
U.S. Physical Music and Download Spending Statistics
U.S. physical music revenue totaled $2.0145 billion in 2024, up 5.4%, according to RIAA estimated retail value. Vinyl revenue was reported at about $1.4 billion, up 7%, while the detailed LP/EP table reported $1.4429 billion. RIAA 2024 Year-End Revenue Report
| U.S. format, 2024 | Revenue or units | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Physical music | $2.0145 billion | Up 5.4% |
| Vinyl | About $1.4 billion | Up 7% |
| LP/EP shipments | 43.6 million | Up 1.0% |
| CDs | $541.1 million | Up 0.7% |
| Digital downloads | $369.7 million | Down 14.9% |
| Download singles | $162.4 million | Down 14.9% |
| Download albums | $166.7 million | Down 18.6% |
| Ringtones and ringbacks | $5.6 million | Down 47.3% |
Vinyl albums outsold CDs by units in 2024, with 44 million vinyl albums versus 33 million CDs. Vinyl represented nearly three-quarters of U.S. physical-format revenue, while shipments are not the same as final consumer transactions.
Digital-download revenue declined from $434.3 million in 2023 to $369.7 million in 2024. Download-single units fell from 150.7 million to 122.1 million, and download-album units fell from 20.5 million to 16.8 million over the same period.
Audio Consumer Behavior Statistics: Podcast, Online-Audio and Smart-Speaker Use
Edison Research’s January 2025 national survey measured U.S. media behavior rather than spending. It surveyed 5,020 people age 12 and older using telephone and online interviews, weighted to the U.S. 12+ population. The Infinite Dial 2025
- 70% of Americans age 12 and older had ever listened to a podcast in January 2025.
- 51% of Americans age 12 and older had ever watched a podcast in January 2025.
- 48% had both listened to and watched a podcast in January 2025.
- 57% of U.S. men and 52% of U.S. women were monthly podcast consumers in January 2025.
- 88% of Americans age 18 and older who had driven or ridden in a car during the prior month met the in-car eligibility condition in January 2025.
- Among that eligible in-car group, 19% had Android Auto and 13% actively used it in January 2025.
- Smart TVs were in three-quarters of U.S. homes in Edison’s January 2025 survey.
Edison estimated that 73% of Americans age 12 and older had consumed a podcast in audio or video form, equivalent to an estimated 210 million people. That combined measure should not be read as audio-only listening, paid subscriptions or consumer spending.
Among weekly U.S. podcast listeners, 33% used YouTube most often to listen in 2025. This is a platform-use measure, not a measure of platform revenue or listener payments.
Audio Spending Trends and Market-Mix Data
The RIAA 2024 U.S. table shows an 88% digital and 12% physical split for combined digital-and-physical shipments, compared with 89% digital and 11% physical in 2023. Subscriptions and royalties are excluded from these shipment shares, so they should not be compared directly with revenue shares.
| U.S. measure | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Total physical value | $1.9120 billion | $2.0145 billion |
| Total streaming revenue | $14.3581 billion | $14.8777 billion |
| Digital-download revenue | $434.3 million | $369.7 million |
| LP/EP value | $1.3502 billion | $1.4429 billion |
| CD shipments | 32.4 million | 32.9 million |
The contrasting movements are clear: U.S. streaming and physical value rose between 2023 and 2024, while digital-download revenue fell. RIAA estimated retail value represents shipments at recommended or estimated list price; formats without a retail equivalent may be included at wholesale value.
For context, global physical formats represented 16.4% of recorded-music revenue in 2024, while U.S. physical value represented about 11.4% of combined digital-and-physical value. That U.S. percentage is a derived ratio from RIAA values, and the denominators differ, so it is not a like-for-like international comparison.
The figures in this article therefore answer different questions: IFPI describes the scale and format mix of global recorded-music revenue, RIAA describes U.S. recorded-music revenue and shipments, and Edison describes U.S. audio-media participation. None alone is a complete measure of every household’s total audio spending.