A new report by data and insights company Luminate has found that over 120,000 new tracks are released on music streaming platforms every day. This is a significant increase from the 16.4 million tracks released in total in 2018. The report attributes this increase to the ease with which people can now share their music, thanks to streaming services.
In the first quarter of 2023 alone, Luminate found that 10.8 million songs were uploaded to streaming platforms. This is over half the amount of music released in total in 2018. The report suggests that this trend is likely to continue, as more and more people use streaming services to share their music with the world.
This increase in the number of new tracks being released on streaming platforms presents both challenges and opportunities for artists and music fans. On the one hand, it can be difficult for artists to stand out from the crowd when there is so much new music being released all the time. On the other, it also means that there is more music available than ever before to choose from, which can be a great thing for fans. The key is for artists to focus on creating high-quality music that will connect with their listeners.
What This Could Imply
With the current growth rate, data predicts that there could be 43 million new tracks posted to Spotify, the world’s largest music streaming service, alone by the end of the year. This growth is also being driven by the increasing presence of AI-created tracks. Luminate measures these stats as ISRCs (International Standard Recording Code), which are unique identifiers assigned to music audio files.
In addition, Luminate found that globally, on-demand audio streams are claimed to grow by 23% the first quarter of each year. This means people are listening to more music than ever, and increasingly using streaming services to do so.
Luminate also found that on-demand audio in the United States grew by 14.2% in 2022. This growth was driven by the increasing popularity of Latin, followed by country and world music.
Spotify saw its paid subscriber base grow by 14% in 2022, reaching 205 million by the end of the year. It is the first music service to surpass 200 million paid subscribers. This growth was driven by the service’s expansion into new markets, such as India and Africa.
The growth in on-demand audio was driven by all age groups, but was particularly strong among Gen Z and millennials. The streaming growth appears to be due to the increasing popularity of smart speakers and voice-activated devices.
This is all good news for the music industry as it means that more people are listening to music, and are increasingly paying for the privilege. This is helping to support artists and the music industry as a whole.
