RIAA Reports All-Time High for Recorded Music Revenues in H1

According to the latest performance breakdown from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the U.S. recorded music industry just had its best first half of a year in history. Overall, retail revenue for H1 2023 hit $8.35 billion – growing a full 9% from a year earlier.

So what? Aside from giving music execs all the good feels, the new high-water line also marks the ninth year of increases in a row, and arrives after what the RIAA calls a “decade of transformation.”

Break it down: To no one’s surprise, streaming is the undisputed king. As a whole, streaming revenue accounted for $7.02 billion in H1, which is up 10.3% YoY and represents 84% of the total figure.

Of that, paid streaming brought in $4.97 billion (up 12.4% YoY) from an average of 95.8 million paid-streaming subscriptions in the U.S. “Over the past five years, the number of people paying for music subscriptions has more than doubled,” the RIAA says.

On-demand ad-supported streaming generated $870.1 million (a modest rise of 0.6%), and about $1 billion more came from “limited tier paid subs,” SoundExchange and other streaming categories. Digital download revenue declined by 12% YoY to $224.8 million.

Meanwhile, physical format revenue was sort of mixed. Overall physical reached its “highest level since the first half of 2013,” up 5% YoY to $882 million, but units sold dropped almost 8%. CDs slipped 17.2% (but revenue actually grew), and vinyl sales slumped 1.8% YoY. Could this mean the vinyl resurgence is over?

What they’re saying: “This report describes a thriving, growing music ecosystem that continues to reach new heights and shape our culture,” says RIAA Chairman & CEO, Mitch Glazier. “And it reflects the creative human genius and hard work of all the artists, songwriters, labels, publishers, and services who make the music happen and meet fans and audiences where they are in today's forward looking and innovative music community.”