Audio streaming now represents most recorded-music value worldwide, while surveys show broad use across music services, podcasts, smart speakers and connected cars. The figures below separate revenue, subscriptions, reach and listening behavior by geography, population and measurement period.
Key Audio Streaming Statistics
The most useful high-level figures are:
- In 2024, streaming represented 69.0% of global recorded-music revenue worldwide.
- By the end of 2024, 752 million paid subscription-account users were recorded globally.
- In 2024, subscription streaming supplied 51.2% of global recorded-music revenue.
- In 2024, U.S. total streaming revenue reached $14.878 billion in estimated retail value.
- During 2024, U.S. paid subscriptions averaged 100.0 million.
- In 2024, U.S. paid-subscription streaming revenue was $10.687 billion.
- In 2024, 52% of UK adults aged 16 and over used an online music service weekly.
- In 2024, 79% of UK adults aged 16–34 used an online music service weekly.
- In 2024, Spotify reached 37% of UK adults weekly.
- In 2024, 60% of UK smart-speaker users listened to music through a streaming service.
- In the fourth quarter of 2023, online listening accounted for 32% of at-home UK radio hours.
- In January 2025, 79% of Americans age 12 and over listened to online audio monthly, an estimated 228 million people.
- In January 2025, 55% of Americans age 12 and over consumed podcasts monthly.
- In January 2025, 73% of Americans age 12 and over had consumed a podcast in audio or video form, an estimated 210 million people.
- In January 2025, 40% of U.S. adults 18 and over who drove or rode in a car during the past month had Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.
Contents
- Global audio streaming market scale
- U.S. audio streaming revenue and subscriptions
- UK online music service reach
- Audio streaming, podcasts and music-video behavior
- Smart speakers, cars and connected-device audio
- U.S. podcast and online-audio adoption
Global Audio Streaming Market Scale
The global figures from IFPI describe recorded-music revenue, not every form of audio-media revenue or total listening time. They also count paid subscription accounts rather than unique people across services.
| Global measure | Period | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Streaming share of recorded-music revenue | 2024 | 69.0% |
| Subscription-streaming share of recorded-music revenue | 2024 | 51.2% |
| Paid subscription-account users | End of 2024 | 752 million |
| Global recorded-music revenue change | 2024 | +4.8% |
| Global streaming-revenue change | 2024 | +9.5% |
Source: IFPI Industry Data.
Ad-supported streaming revenue increased 1.2% globally in 2024, while global physical recorded-music revenue declined 3.1%. The physical figure is a comparison format rather than an audio-streaming measure.
These are industry revenue measures, so they should not be read as equivalent to stream counts, listening hours or the number of listeners. The 752 million figure is an estimate of paid subscription-account users and may include accounts used by the same person across services.
U.S. Audio Streaming Revenue and Subscription Statistics
RIAA reports U.S. retail values net after returns and separates paid subscriptions, limited tiers, ad-supported on-demand services and statutory-license distributions. The categories therefore describe different parts of the market.
| U.S. measure | 2024 result | Change or definition |
|---|---|---|
| Total streaming revenue | $14.878 billion | Estimated retail value |
| Average paid subscriptions | 100.0 million | Excludes limited tier |
| Paid-subscription streaming revenue | $10.687 billion | +5.3% from 2023 |
| Limited-tier paid-subscription revenue | $998.3 million | −2.3% in 2024 |
| Ad-supported on-demand revenue | $1.832 billion | −1.8% in 2024 |
Source: RIAA 2024 Year-End Revenue Statistics.
Average paid-subscription volume rose 3.3%, from 96.8 million in 2023 to 100.0 million in 2024. The paid-subscription category excludes limited tiers, which RIAA defines through restrictions such as limited interactivity, devices, catalogs or on-demand access.
Other U.S. streaming-related measures provide additional context. SoundExchange distributions were $1.054 billion in 2024, up 4.9% year over year, while other ad-supported streaming revenue was $306.5 million, down 3.5%.
RIAA reported total U.S. digital value of $15.247 billion in 2024, up 3.1%, but that broader measure includes downloads as well as streaming. Streaming represented 84.2% of total U.S. recorded-music value in 2024, a derived rounded ratio based on RIAA’s reported $14.878 billion streaming value and $17.675 billion total digital plus physical value.
For physical-format comparison, U.S. physical music value was $2.015 billion in 2024, up 5.4%, and vinyl LP/EP shipments totaled 43.6 million units worth $1.443 billion. These figures are contextual comparisons, not streaming revenue.
UK Online Music Service Reach and Age-Group Data
Ofcom’s 2024 Audio Survey covered 3,333 respondents overall and reports self-declared weekly use among UK adults aged 16 and over. The measures are survey reach, not unique accounts or streams.
| Weekly activity among UK adults 16+ | 2024 reach |
|---|---|
| Music radio | 61% |
| Online music service | 52% |
| Online music video for background listening | 43% |
| Personal music stored on a digital device | 41% |
| Speech radio | 34% |
Source: Ofcom Audio Report 2024.
Online music-service use varied substantially by age:
- 79% of UK adults aged 16–34 used an online music service weekly in 2024.
- 55% of UK adults aged 35–54 used an online music service weekly in 2024.
- 39% of UK adults aged 55 and over used an online music service weekly in 2024.
Service reach among all UK adults was 47% for YouTube, 37% for Spotify and 21% for BBC Sounds weekly in 2024. Among 16–34s, Spotify reached 63% weekly versus 37% across all adults, YouTube reached 62% versus 47%, and Apple Music reached 22% versus 11%.
These service figures can overlap because people may use multiple platforms. YouTube can also include multiple audio types, so its online-audio measure should not be treated as a music-only audience.
Audio Streaming, Podcasts and Music-Video Behavior
Ofcom also measured reasons for streaming and service choices within specific listener groups. The denominators differ by activity, so these percentages should not be compared directly with all-adult reach.
Among UK monthly online-music listeners, 58% cited entertainment as a reason for music streaming and 51% cited relaxation. Among adults using online music-video services for background listening, 80% used YouTube; that base comprised 1,372 respondents.
Among UK online-radio listeners, 61% used Spotify, 48% used BBC Sounds and 29% used YouTube. Among UK podcast listeners, 34% used Audible, 26% YouTube and 25% Spotify; among audiobook listeners, the reported figures were also 34%, 26% and 25%, respectively.
Service use can overlap within each listener group. Podcast and audiobook service percentages describe the relevant listener bases, not the entire UK adult population.
Smart Speakers, Cars and Connected-Device Audio
Connected devices extend streaming beyond phones and computers, but the supplied measures cover different populations and activities.
In 2023, 42% of UK households had a smart speaker according to Ofcom’s Technology Tracker context. In 2024, 60% of UK smart-speaker users used the device to listen to music through a streaming service, while 58% used it to listen to live radio.
Among UK smart-speaker users who listened to radio, 49% changed the default radio provider in 2024. Ofcom notes that the relevant base was smart-speaker users listening to radio, with 1,023 smart-speaker users overall in the cited survey context.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, online listening accounted for 32% of at-home UK radio listening hours, compared with 26% on AM/FM in the cited RAJAR context. In UK cars, 93% of radio listening continued to use a digital or analogue radio set; this is radio-set listening, not all connected audio.
In January 2025, among U.S. adults aged 18 and over who drove or rode in a car during the past month, 40% had Apple CarPlay or Android Auto and 33% actively used one of those systems. Apple CarPlay was present for 28% and actively used by 22%, while Android Auto was present for 19% and actively used by 13%.
The U.S. car figures use the recent driver-or-rider population as the denominator. The Infinite Dial survey reported that this car-user base represented 88% of U.S. adults aged 18 and over.
U.S. Podcast and Online-Audio Adoption Statistics
The Infinite Dial 2025 surveyed 5,020 U.S. people aged 12 and over in January 2025 through 1,006 telephone and 4,014 online interviews, weighted to national population figures. Its online-audio definition includes streaming AM/FM, podcasts and streaming music; podcast audio/video results should not be relabeled as audio-only streaming.
| U.S. age-12-plus measure | January 2025 result |
|---|---|
| Monthly online-audio listening | 79%; estimated 228 million |
| Ever listened to a podcast | 70% |
| Ever watched a podcast | 51% |
| Consumed a podcast in audio or video | 73%; estimated 210 million |
| Monthly podcast consumption | 55% |
| Both listened to and watched a podcast | 48% |
Source: The Infinite Dial 2025.
YouTube was used most often to listen to podcasts by 33% of U.S. weekly podcast listeners in January 2025. This is Edison Podcast Metrics’ service-choice measure, not a share of total listening time.
Monthly podcast consumption was 57% among U.S. men and 52% among U.S. women in January 2025. These are self-reported study categories and should be interpreted as reported rather than independently recalculated demographic estimates.
Smart TVs were present in three-quarters of U.S. homes in January 2025. That figure is connected-TV context, not a direct measure of audio-streaming use.