US Recorded Music Revenue Hits Record $11.5 Billion in 2025

The US recorded music industry achieved a record high of $11.535 billion in wholesale revenue in 2025, marking a 3.1% increase year-over-year, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). This growth narrowly outpaced the US inflation rate of 2.7% during the same period.

Streaming Dominates, But Growth is Mixed

Streaming continues to be the primary driver of revenue, accounting for 82% of the total market and generating $9.474 billion – a 3.1% increase from the previous year. However, growth within the streaming sector was uneven.

• Paid Subscriptions: Revenue from paid subscriptions grew 6.8% to $5.88 billion, fueled by 106.5 million accounts, a net increase of 6.5 million. This marks the strongest subscriber growth since 2022.
• Free Streaming: Revenue from ad-supported streaming services (like YouTube and Spotify’s free tier) saw a slight decline of 0.6% to $1.79 billion.
• Non-Premium Subscriptions: Revenue from non-premium subscriptions (such as Amazon Prime and Pandora Plus) decreased by 4.5% to $495.2 million.
• Other Streaming: Revenue from digital and customized radio services fell 3.8% to $1.31 billion.

Vinyl Sales Continue to Surge

Physical music formats experienced a rebound, with total physical revenue growing 5.0% to $1.38 billion. Vinyl led this resurgence, with revenue increasing 9.3% to $1.04 billion. This marks the 19th consecutive year of growth for vinyl, which now represents nearly 50% of global vinyl revenue.

Vinyl unit sales rose 7.9% to 46.8 million, outselling CDs for the fifth consecutive year. CD sales continued their decline, falling 11.6% in units to 29.5 million and 7.8% in revenue to $312.4 million.

Digital Downloads and Synchronization Licensing

Digital download revenue remained relatively stable, declining only 0.8% to $272.6 million. Synchronization licensing revenue dipped 1.3% to $407.1 million.

The Role of AI in the Music Industry

The RIAA emphasized the industry’s focus on “advancing free-market licensing” and building “responsible AI partnerships” to enhance music discovery and fan engagement. Recent polling data indicates strong public opposition to AI companies using copyrighted works without permission, with a 67% to 23% margin.

Industry Outlook

“The last 20 years have been marked by unprecedented transformation for recorded music – from the steady rise to dominance of anytime, anywhere streaming options as listeners enjoy tunes from their favorite artists to a resurgence of vinyl as both a listening experience and collectable art,” said Mitch Glazier, RIAA Chairman & CEO. “And now, our industry is advancing free-market licensing, building responsible AI partnerships that enhance discovery, deepen fan engagement and unlock new creative possibilities for how music is made and experienced.”

Matt Bass, RIAA VP of Research, added, “Fans are consuming music from the artists they love in more ways than ever and that passion is reflected in today’s report. 2025 reveals a strong and stable music economy resulting from committed label investment and identification of new spaces to expand artists’ creativity. From the ease of streaming to new vinyl to licensing responsible AI tools and services, labels are diversifying fan engagement.”

Sources: RIAA, Billboard, Music Business Worldwide