UK-based research organization MIDiA, in its new report, stated that global revenues in the recorded music industry increased by 24.7% last year to $28.8 billion; He revealed that this increase of 24.7% for 2021 also represents the largest increase in recent times. It is estimated that worldwide music streaming revenues have reached 18.5 billion dollars. The increase of 29.3%, or 4.2 billion dollars, is a record compared to 2020.
MIDiA considers platforms categorized outside of digital service providers (DSPs), namely Facebook, Meta, TikTok, Snap, Peloton and Twitch, as one of the important drivers of this growth. As a matter of fact, a total of 1.5 billion dollars obtained from these platforms is among the statistics in the report. The total revenue generated through DSPs, such as streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and Youtube Music, is $17 billion.
The report also focuses on the income statistics of leading music companies. For Universal Music Group, the situation corresponds to a market share of approximately 29% and revenue of $8.2 billion; Sony Music Group is the music company with the highest revenue growth in a row. It’s also a first since 2017 that collective market shares for major labels haven’t dropped.
Independent labels and artists are the cornerstones of MIDiA forecasts. It is stated that in 2021, independent label and artists directly made 10 billion dollars. This represents an increase of $1.2 billion over the previous year. Estimated revenue for independent artists ranges from $4 million per day to $125 million each month. The market share of these artists, who self-publish their music works, is estimated to increase from 5.1% in 2020 to 5.3% in 2021.
Mark Mulligan, co-author of the research organization, said: “The recorded music industry was vulnerable in 2020, left on the path of growth due to DSPs. However, 2021 was very different. There has been growth in many areas, especially the rise in non-DSP income,” he said. “While 2021 is full of exceptional conditions, the annual growth of 24.7% marks a new era for the increasingly diversified industry.”
Mulligan also said, “In 2020, we predicted that 2021 will be a very important year for the market. It’s been a fast year. Streaming revenues on DSPs were the only growth segment in 2020, while in 2021 we started to see diversity in the formats from which the revenue stream was delivered. With record amounts spent on the acquisition of music catalogs and the IPOs of Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group and Believe Digital, 2021 has been a very successful year for the music industry,” he said, emphasizing the continued global growth in the market with increased revenue volume in the recorded music industry.
