RIAA REPORT BREAKS DOWN THE MUSIC ECONOMY

The music industry contributed $170b in 2018 to the U.S. GDP and supported 2.5m jobs nationwide, according to a new report from economists Robert Stoner and Jéssica Dutra.

The $170b figure represents a 15% leap over 2015's industry value of $148b. The industry directly employed 1.28m people in 2018 with average earnings of nearly $36,000 per person.

Breaking it down by states, California contributed $39.5b, New York pumped in $19.8b and Tennessee punched above its weight with $5.8b. Texas comes in at $6.9b.

“This data provides an important pre-COVID benchmark of the music economy that will guide us as we determine what a return to ‘normal’ must include,” said Josh Friedlander, SVP of Research and Economics at the RIAA. “It also charts a course for state and federal policymakers to leverage music’s ability to produce strong economic growth and high-paying domestic jobs.”

As an export, music generated $9.1b in foreign sales, the U.S. Music Industries: 2020 Jobs & Benefits Report found. For every dollar created by music activities, an additional 50 cents is created in adjacent business or fields.

The report can be found here.