It Isn't Just the Music

[Analogous]

The prospect of losing physical media in the future is disturbing…

Physical media market shares, from 1973–2024. From riaa.com/u-s-sales-database.

It Isn't Just the Music

Physical media market shares, from 19732024. From riaa.com/u-s-sales-database.

www.stereophile.com

 

[reignofchaos]

Well if you look at the bars, the share of vinyl is actually improving!

 

[ajinkya]

What is the reason total sales magnitude is dropping towards modern times? Has the digital music format made the per unit or per song cost smaller?

 

[sachinchavan 15865]

How much of this fall is getting compensated by rising revenues of music streaming platforms? Any idea?

P.S. I googled and found that Apple Music’a estimated revenue is $ 9.1 bn. And Spotify paid $ 9 bn in royalty last year. Assuming that say just one-third of this comes from US market, aren’t we talking of far bigger numbers than the peak of $1.9 bn per annum reached by physical media sales in 2008 as per the above chart?

Why should that be disturbing for anyone? Whether the music industry, the artists or the consumers. It’s just that the primary mode of consumption has changed and it seems has a) democratised music distribution for the artists and b) grown the industry by multiple times.

If at all, it may be disturbing to the companies who still make only physical media players of those who listen only to physical media. The latter’s surely a small minority of music listeners, though it can be sizeable in a forum like this.

 

[reignofchaos]

What is the reason total sales magnitude is dropping towards modern times? Has the digital music format made the per unit or per song cost smaller?

People stream via digital music services like spotify/tidal/qobuz/apple music these days. Those revenues are not accounted for here.