U.S. recorded music revenue grew 8 percent in 2023, to an estimated record high of $17.1 billion at retail. It was the eighth consecutive year of growth, according to the RIAA, which says streaming continued to be the biggest driver, notching new heights of paid subscriptions, robust growth in ad-supported listening, and healthy increased contributions from new platforms. Streaming accounted for 84 percent of retail revenue, at $14.4 billion including from 96.8 million paid subscriptions. On the supply-side, wholesale revenue grew 7 percent to $11 billion, also a record. Continue reading Streaming Drives U.S. Recorded Music to Record $17 Billion

To battle the increasing challenges that music labels have experienced with selling albums, some independent labels and their artists have decided to embrace streaming. Drip.fm, a two-year-old subscription streaming and download service, has partnered with Sub Pop Records to provide subscribers with the label’s albums, singles and special exclusives for $10 per month. The idea is to cultivate and monetize the most loyal fans as streaming continues to popularize. Continue reading Indie Labels Adjust to Growing Popularity of Music Streaming

Universal Music is developing a crowdfunding service that will support limited-edition releases of out-of-print vinyl records. The Vinyl Project aims to bring back rare and deleted records from Universal’s back catalog. CMU reports that releases currently being considered for availability to funders include “ABC” by The Jackson 5, Björk’s “Biophilia,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by Elton John, “His N Hers” by Pulp, Def Leppard’s “Hysteria” and “Disraeli Gears” by Cream. Continue reading Universal’s Crowdfunding Effort to Save Out-of-Print Vinyl