Entertainment

The Grammys showcased a resurgent music industry

US recorded music sales jumped to $15 billion last year.
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Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

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The Grammy Awards were held last night, and, unlike the Oscars, the only thing that slapped was Jon Batiste’s performance.

The most memorable moment of the night, however, was not a song but a prerecorded speech from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who implored artists to “fill the silence with your music.”

The state of music: After the industry was wrecked by the internet in the 2000s, it’s being revitalized by those same digital forces. Thanks to the sustained rise of streaming, the US recorded music business grew 24% to $15 billion last year, according to a recent report from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

  • Streaming, which includes formats like paid subscriptions, Facebook licensing, and TikTok (included for the first time), accounts for 83% of industry revenue.
  • But don’t count out physical products, either. Vinyl sales grew for the 15th straight year and hit $1 billion in sales for the first time since 1986. In all, physical formats accounted for 11% of music industry revenue.

Bottom line: Sales of recorded music have grown every year since 2015—but artists are still struggling to monetize their work in the digital era. Compared to the peak of the industry in 1999, music sales are down almost 40% when adjusted for inflation.

Become smarter in just 5 minutes

Morning Brew delivers quick and insightful updates about the business world every day of the week from Wall St. to Silicon Valley.