DIMA’S 2026 ANNUAL REPORT SHOWS CONSUMER ENGAGEMENT WITH MUSIC STREAMING CONTINUES TO SOAR

• 94% of streamers like or love their streaming services;
• 50% of streamers listen to streaming services every day;
• Streamers are spending 27% more on recorded music, including streaming subscriptions, than 5 years ago;
• Global music streaming revenues have reached over $22BN, around 70% of total global recorded music revenues (IFPI Global Music Report 2026);
• Streaming services face legislative and regulatory challenges in several territories.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Digital Media Association (DIMA), the trade association representing the leading music streaming services including Amazon, Apple Music, Feed.fm, Pandora, Qobuz, Pandora, Spotify and YouTube, revealed that 50% of consumers are listening to their streaming services every day – rising to 58% for paid subscribers.

The research, conducted in partnership with MusicWatch and released as part of DIMA’s 2026 Annual Report, underscores streaming’s continued role as the economic engine of the music industry and highlights the importance of maintaining streamers’ user experience amid a shifting technological, economic, and regulatory landscape.

Graham Davies, President and CEO of DIMA commented: “Growing daily engagement with streaming services is powering continued music industry growth, taking music streaming revenues to over $22BN last year, which equates to around 70% of the total global recorded music revenues. And streaming consumers now spend 27% more on music than they did five years ago. For this success story to continue, we need a policy environment that protects consumers’ seamless experience so that streaming services can continue to invest, innovate and open up global opportunities for artists.”

Other key findings:

Users of streaming services report high satisfaction with their experience and say streaming strengthens their connection with artists

• Nearly all streamers (94%) say they like or love their streaming service, and over a half listen to their streaming services every day, rising to 58% among paid subscribers.
• Consumers also see strong value in streaming, with 90% describing their service as good, very good or excellent value for money.
• Streaming is also deepening artist engagement, with 86% saying it improves their connection with artists and music they love.

Streamers are highly engaged and financially committed consumers who contribute to the entire music ecosystem:

• The average streamer spends approximately $434 annually on recorded music: 27% more than five years ago.
• Among paid on-demand streaming subscribers, that figure rises significantly to $614 per year: underscoring the strong link between streaming engagement and overall music spending.

Streaming is the number one source of music discovery and gives back-catalogs a new lease of life

• Streaming is ranked the number one source of music discovery – with 69% of respondents saying streaming was a main source of discovering new music.
• This was followed by social media (50%), introductions from friends and family (38%), and music played in TV or movies (38%).
• While 78% use streaming to find brand new releases, 88% of streamers use it to discover older songs – to both discover old, familiar songs and find songs from decades past that they have never heard.

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CONTACT: media@dima.org

READ FULL DIMA ANNUAL REPORT 2026

Please find high-resolution headshots, logos and graphics from the report here: DIMA Annual Report 2026.

Data from Graham Davies’ quote is from the IFPI Global Music Report 2026.

ABOUT DIMA

DIMA is the voice of music streaming advocating for the digital music innovations that have created unparalleled consumer choice and revolutionized the way music fans and artists connect. Representing the world’s leading music streaming companies and streaming innovators, including Amazon, Apple Music, feed.fm, Pandora, Qobuz, Spotify, Tidal and YouTube, DIMA’s mission is to promote and protect the ability of music fans to engage with creative content whenever and wherever they want and for artists to more easily reach old fans and make new ones.

ABOUT MUSICWATCH

MusicWatch is the leading U.S. insights firm for understanding the behaviors, attitudes and motivations of the music fan.  Founded in 2000, MusicWatch provides global custom research services, syndicated research reports and analyst services. MusicWatch has been on the leading edge helping to understand every music innovation; from the transition from physical to digital media, the impact of music piracy, the shift from purchasing to listening, the device connected listener and the emergence of social media. MusicWatch’s Annual Music Study has been the gold standard for viewing the music consumer since 2002, and “audiocensus” is the longest running share of listening report in existence.

DIMA RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The consumer insights contained in this report are sourced from online research studies conducted by MusicWatch, Inc. on behalf of DIMA, and from MusicWatch’s proprietary Annual Music Study.

MusicWatch surveyed 3,555 U.S. respondents aged 13-70 between December 21, 2025 and February 2, 2026 on a variety of topics related to music and entertainment activities including listening, purchasing and usage across digital, physical and broadcast options. The sample was weighted and projected to represent U.S. internet using population based on age, gender, ethnicity, income and region.

A parallel study was conducted in Canada, Brazil, Chile and Mexico, each based on 1000 respondents ages 18-70 and weighted to the particular country’s primary demographics. Sampling took place between December 17, 2025, and January 29, 2026.

Respondents were asked about past year music listening and purchase habits, including spending patterns, time spent listening across formats, subscription value perceptions, passion for streaming services, reasons why they stream/prefer streaming, genres listen to/favorite genres, music discovery sources, experience with and attitudes towards AI generated music, beliefs around local music and culture, and the role of government in oversight and regulation.

Historical trends, market size estimates and expenditures for the U.S. are sourced from MusicWatch’s Annual Music Study.