Music streams reach record-breaking 4 trillion in 2023

On-demand streaming saw continual growth last year, despite a resurgence in physical media and a full return to live events. It follows similar trends in other industries, emphasising subscription models and digital licensing rather than outright ownership.

In news that will be unsurprising to most, on-demand music streaming saw exceptional growth in 2023.

According to data provided by music and entertainment data analysis firm Luminate, streaming increased by 22.3% over the previous year, surpassing 4 trillion for the first time. 2022 saw 3.4 trillion streams globally.

In the US, R&B/hip-hop remained the most popular musical genre, and made up over a quarter of all streams last year. Rock was a close second, generating 20% of streams with US listeners, while pop songs represented 12%.

Interestingly, Luminate’s research also stated that Gen Z and Millennial listeners are most likely to play foreign language music. Given the huge success of acts like Bad Bunny and BTS with younger consumers, this shouldn’t come as too much of a shock.