TAKEAWAYS FROM THE 2018 RIAA REVENUE REPORT

According to the RIAA's 2018 year-end Music Industry Revenue Report, the U.S. music biz experienced its third year of consecutive growth in 2018 with retail revenues up 12% to $9.8b, fueled by—what else?—streaming.

RIAA Chairman & CEO Mitch Glazier declared in his Medium commentary, "Fifty million subscriptions illustrate fans’ unrivaled love for music and the way it shapes our identities and culture — and showcases an industry that has embraced the future and found a healthy path forward in the digital economy. Anyway, who wants a plaque? I can make 'em from my phone now."

The double-digit growth was driven primarily by increased revenues from paid subscription services including Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon and others, which reached more than 50m subscriptions domestically for the first time.

Revenues from streaming platforms grew 30% year-over-year to reach $7.4b and contributed 75% of total revenues for 2018, accounting for virtually all revenue growth for the year.

Adoption of paid subscription services continued to grow quickly in 2018. The average number of paid subscriptions (excluding limited tier options) grew 42% compared with the prior year, exceeding 50 million for the first time ever. On average, more than one million new subscriptions were added on a monthly basis.

Revenues from downloaded tracks and albums declined for the sixth consecutive year to $1.04b. Downloads accounted for 11% of revenues for 2018, down from 42% as recently as 2013.

All information was provided by the RIAA's 2018 Year-End Revenue Report which can be found here.