According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the music business is on the uptrend. Music revenues are up to $4.6 billion in income within the first half of 2018, which compares well to $4.2 billion in the same timeframe in 2017. The rest of the following information should not surprise anyone if you've been following how things have been progressing over the past few years.
In their report, the RIAA states that of the $4.6 billion total income, streaming is responsible for a whopping 75% of it. Digital downloads make up, 12% physical media makes 10% and synch is 3%. This is also pretty bad news for artists who aren't major names on major labels, as the payout rates for streaming services are completely and utterly awful, as a recent article in Digital Music News will tell you.
Award-winning cellist and composer Zoe Keating, for example, revealed she earned just $4,388.93 after nearly 1.2 million total streams on Spotify. On Deezer, she earned $99.06 after 20,460 plays. Keating also earned $167.31 from 44,366 plays on Amazon Music – most likely Music Unlimited.
But YouTube ranked as the service with the most humiliating payout. After 865 plays, Keating earned a paltry $2.47, not enough for a coffee at Starbucks after sales tax.
As far as physical media sales go, CDs fell a massive 41% in sales and vinyl continued its infinite ascent as it rose 13%. The physical media sales shouldn't be much of a surprise. Major retailers like Best Buy stopped carrying CDs all together recently and vinyl has steadily continued to rise over the past few years.
