Global music streams hit 4 trillion in 2023

According to the report, the growth was fuelled by country, Latin and world (a catchall that includes J-pop, K-pop and Afrobeats/Afropop) in the US, which experienced 23.7%, 24.1% and 26.2% growth, respectively. Spanish-language music also grew by 3.8% in the US, while English-language music’s share declined by the same margin.

‘Calm Down’ by Rema and Selena Gomez was the fifth most consumed song in the US with 4.811 million song sales and on-demand streams for 2023. The song earned 457 million on-demand audio (ODA) streams and 384 million on-demand video streams during the year, with 159 000 pure copies sold. The song was also the second-most popular song on US radio with an audience of 3.6 billion, based on audience impressions.

The report also shows that Afrobeats/Afropop was the ninth largest growing genre in the US with just over 2 billion new ODA streams in 2023. The top three genres are rock, hip hop and R&B, with rock surpassing 15 billion new ODA streams.

At the same time, outside of the Middle East and North Africa, Afrobeats received the highest number of streams in Luxembourg, the Netherlands, France, the UK and Portugal.

According to the report, Kenya and Nigeria registered a streaming penetration of 99% and 98%, respectively, with the majority of citizens discovering their music via social media, TV and from friends. In Kenya, local gospel topped the streams, while Afrobeats was the dominant genre in Nigeria.

The US saw a growing crop of “multilingual music listeners” who “listen to new music to experience new cultures and perspectives.” Stats show that 63% of them are Gen Zs while 65% are millennials.

The report also indicated that 33% of millennials listened to Afropop, gospel, hip hop, jazz and R&B. Those who listen to reggae and Afropop are more likely to choose entertainment content that helps connect with their culture, identity and values.

Taylor Swift is the US’ most streamed artist, accounting for one in every 78 of the country’s on-demand audio streams, and claiming five of the top 10 albums in the country.

Despite Swift’s unparalleled success, when it comes to overall music consumption in the US, hip hop continues to rule, accounting for 25.5% of all streams in 2023. Experts say this may have had something to do with hip hop celebrating its 50 years anniversary in 2023, with streams for current R&B and hip hop acts dropping by 7.1% from 2022, while catalogue streams from older material grew 11.3%.