Audio subscription now spans paid music accounts, platform businesses, podcast participation, audiobook access and connected listening. The measures below separate those categories by geography, population, period and definition.
Key Audio Subscription Statistics
The most broadly useful figures include:
- In 2024, 752 million global paid subscription accounts were reported at year end.
- In 2024, global subscription-streaming revenue grew 9.5% from 2023 in recorded music.
- In 2024, streaming generated 69.0% of global recorded-music revenue.
- In 2024, global recorded-music streaming revenue reached $20.4 billion.
- In 2024, global paid subscription accounts grew 10.6% from 2023.
- In 2024, Spotify had 263 million Premium Subscribers across 184 countries and territories at December 31.
- In 2024, Spotify had 675 million monthly active users worldwide at December 31.
- In 2024, Spotify had 425 million ad-supported monthly active users at December 31.
- In 2024, Spotify Premium revenue was €13.819 billion worldwide.
- In 2024, Spotify Premium cost of revenue equaled 67% of Premium revenue.
- In 2023/24, streamed music represented 22% of weekly UK adult audio time.
- In 2023/24, UK adults aged 15–34 devoted 45% of weekly audio time to streamed music.
- In 2023/24, 74% of UK people aged 15–34 listened to streamed music weekly.
- In 2025, 70% of Americans aged 12 and older had ever listened to a podcast.
- In 2025, 55% of Americans aged 12 and older consumed podcasts monthly.
- In 2025, 210 million Americans were estimated to consume podcasts in audio or video format.
- In 2024, 35% of UK regular podcast listeners said they would pay to subscribe to a favorite podcast.
- In 2025, three-quarters of U.S. households had a smart TV.
Contents
- Global audio subscription scale
- Audio subscription growth and format trends
- Spotify subscriber statistics and economics
- Online audio adoption and listening time
- Podcast subscription and willingness to pay
- Audiobooks, cars and connected audio
Global Audio Subscription Scale
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) reported 752 million paid subscription accounts globally at the end of 2024. This is an account measure, not necessarily a count of unique people, so households or individuals with multiple accounts may affect interpretation. IFPI, “Amidst Highly Competitive Market, Global Recorded Music Revenues Grew 4.8% in 2024”
Paid subscription accounts grew 10.6% globally in 2024 compared with 2023, while global subscription-streaming revenue rose 9.5% over the same period. These measures describe recorded-music subscriptions and should not be treated as totals for every audio category. IFPI, “Amidst Highly Competitive Market, Global Recorded Music Revenues Grew 4.8% in 2024”
| Global recorded-music measure | Period | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Paid subscription accounts | End of 2024 | 752 million accounts |
| Paid subscription-account growth | 2024 vs. 2023 | 10.6% |
| Subscription-streaming revenue growth | 2024 vs. 2023 | 9.5% |
| Total streaming revenue | 2024 | $20.4 billion |
| Streaming share of recorded-music revenue | 2024 | 69.0% |
Streaming revenue exceeded $20 billion for the first time in 2024, reaching $20.4 billion globally. IFPI also reported that streaming represented 69.0% of recorded-music revenue, while the complement—31.0%—covered all non-streaming formats combined and was derived from that reported share. IFPI, “Global Music Report 2025: State of the Industry”
Audio Subscription Growth and Format Trends
The recorded-music market’s 2024 mix shows why subscription statistics are usually discussed alongside broader streaming data. Streaming accounted for 69.0% of global recorded-music revenue, but that category includes both subscription and ad-supported formats, so it is wider than paid audio subscriptions alone. IFPI, “Global Music Report 2025: State of the Industry”
Format changes in 2024 were uneven:
- Music-video revenue fell 15.5% in 2024 compared with 2023 globally.
- Physical formats declined 3.1% in 2024, after growing 14.5% in 2023 globally.
- Streaming revenue reached $20.4 billion globally in 2024, its first year above $20 billion.
These figures are format-specific industry measures rather than direct measures of listening hours, paid conversion or the number of subscribers. The physical-format comparison covers the two-year sequence reported by IFPI. IFPI, “Global Music Report 2025: State of the Industry”
Spotify Subscriber Statistics and Platform Economics
Spotify’s 2024 annual report recorded 263 million Premium Subscribers on December 31, 2024, across 184 countries and territories. Premium Subscribers grew 11% year over year, while Spotify reported 675 million monthly active users (MAUs), up 12% year over year. Spotify Technology S.A., “Annual Report on Form 20-F for 2024”
| Spotify worldwide metric | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Premium revenue | €10.251 billion | €11.566 billion | €13.819 billion |
| Annual Premium ARPU | €4.52 | €4.39 | €4.69 |
| Premium cost of revenue | — | — | €9.324 billion |
| Premium gross profit | — | — | €4.495 billion |
Spotify’s Premium revenue increased 19% in 2024, reaching €13.819 billion, while Premium cost of revenue rose 13% to €9.324 billion. Premium cost of revenue represented 67% of Premium revenue in 2024, down from 71% in 2023, and Premium revenue represented 88% of total revenue. Spotify Technology S.A., “Annual Report on Form 20-F for 2024”
Spotify reported 425 million ad-supported MAUs at December 31, 2024. Europe had 181 million MAUs, accounting for 27% of Spotify’s global MAUs under the company’s regional definition. Spotify Technology S.A., “Annual Report on Form 20-F for 2024”
Annual Premium ARPU was €4.69 per subscriber-month in 2024, compared with €4.39 in 2023 and €4.52 in 2022. Spotify reported a 7% ARPU increase in 2024; its filing describes ARPU as an internal company metric that has not been independently validated. Spotify Technology S.A., “Annual Report on Form 20-F for 2024”
Online Audio Adoption and Listening Time
Ofcom’s Media Nations: UK 2024 report provides a time-share view rather than a paid-subscription count. UK adults aged 15 and older spent 22% of weekly audio listening time with streamed music in 2023/24, compared with 61% with radio, including 58% live radio and 3% on-demand radio. Ofcom, “Media Nations: UK 2024”
| UK audio measure | 2019 | 2023/24 |
|---|---|---|
| Streamed music share of weekly audio time | 13% | 22% |
| Radio share of weekly audio time | 72% | 61% |
| Streamed music share among ages 15–34 | — | 45% |
| Radio share among ages 15–34 | — | 34% |
Among UK 15–34s in 2023/24, streamed music represented 45% of weekly audio time and radio represented 34%. Weekly reach was 74% for streamed music, 50% for live radio on a radio set and 34% for music via video sites or channels; these are listening measures, not proof of paid subscription. Ofcom, “Media Nations: UK 2024”
Ofcom also reported that YouTube was used by 80% of UK adults for music videos as background listening in 2024. In the same year, 29% of UK listeners used YouTube for podcasts and 26% of UK listeners used it for audiobooks; platform use is not equivalent to subscription ownership. Ofcom, “Media Nations: UK 2024”
Radio remained a large weekly-audience channel: 49.9 million UK adults listened to radio each week in Q1 2024, according to the RAJAR measure reported by Ofcom. Ofcom, “Media Nations: UK 2024”
Podcast Subscription, Listening and Willingness to Pay
Edison Research’s Infinite Dial 2025 found that 70% of Americans aged 12 and older had ever listened to a podcast. The survey also found 51% had watched a podcast, 73% had consumed one in audio or video format—estimated at 210 million people—and 48% had both listened to and watched a podcast. Edison Research, “The Infinite Dial 2025”
Monthly podcast consumption reached 55% of the U.S. age-12-plus population in 2025. The monthly figure was 57% among U.S. men aged 12 and older and 52% among U.S. women aged 12 and older, while YouTube was used most often by 33% of U.S. weekly podcast listeners. Edison Research, “The Infinite Dial 2025”
Ofcom’s UK survey shows that podcast participation and paid subscription intent are separate concepts:
- 83% of UK regular podcast listeners valued convenience—being able to listen whenever it suits them—in 2024.
- 35% of UK regular podcast listeners said they would be happy to pay to subscribe to a favorite podcast in 2024.
- 71% of UK podcast listeners listened to one to five individual podcasts per week in 2024, while 24% listened to six or more.
- 10% of UK regular podcast listeners subscribed to 11 or more podcasts in 2024.
- 12% of UK regular podcast listeners subscribed to no podcasts in 2024.
In this Ofcom survey, “subscribe” refers to follow or subscribe behavior and is not necessarily a payment. The base for the one-to-five and six-or-more measures is monthly podcast listeners, while the willingness-to-pay and 11-or-more figures use regular podcast listeners. Ofcom, “Media Nations: UK 2024”
Audiobook, Smart-TV and Connected-Audio Statistics
Connected devices expand where subscription audio can be consumed, but device access is not the same as a paid service. Edison Research reported that three-quarters of U.S. households had a smart TV in 2025, providing a connected-audio context alongside video and music use. Edison Research, “The Infinite Dial 2025”
For U.S. adults who drove or rode in a car during the past month in 2025, Apple CarPlay or Android Auto availability reached 40%, while active use reached 33%. The base excludes adults without a recent car trip, and availability does not establish that a person used a subscription audio service through the system. Edison Research, “The Infinite Dial 2025”
| Connected-car measure | 2025 result | Defined U.S. base |
|---|---|---|
| Apple CarPlay or Android Auto available | 40% | Adults who drove or rode in a car in the past month |
| Apple CarPlay or Android Auto actively used | 33% | Same base |
| Apple CarPlay available | 28% | Same base |
| Apple CarPlay actively used | 22% | Same base |
| Android Auto available | 19% | Same base |
| Android Auto actively used | 13% | Same base |
Apple CarPlay was available to 28% of adults in the recent-driver-or-rider base and actively used by 22%. Android Auto was available to 19% and actively used by 13%, showing the difference between installed access and reported use without converting either measure into subscription ownership. Edison Research, “The Infinite Dial 2025”