Streaming music and video services have seen a surge in usage in 2018. In 2016, 50% of all music played was via streaming services such as Spotify or Tidal, while this year the percentage has risen to 75%, according to Nielsen.
Americans achieved, through streaming services, the playback of 403 billion music tracks in the first half of 2018, a number unprecedented.
The two most popular artists, who had the most online plays of their tracks in the US, are Drake and Post Malone, logging 3.3 and 3.1 billion streams respectively. The most popular song for 2018 so far is God’s Plan by Drake.
As music streaming services develop and their audience grows, the reach of other media continues to decline. Record sales, both physical and digital, have been steadily decreasing for several years, along with sales of single tracks, as users turn to streaming services.
Naturally, however, these services are not completely free. Although some of them provide access to their content for free, they display many advertisements, while others offer subscription packages with a monthly charge.
Overall, users who pay for a music subscription service contribute almost $4.1 billion to the music industry.
Similarly, while free users are bombarded with very frequent ads, the revenue they provide to the industry is much less, as in 2017 services like Spotify and YouTube made around $660 million. The number, although large, seems insignificant compared to the $4 billion paid in total by streaming service subscribers.
