The Music Streaming Economy – Part 1: The International Music Streaming Boom

Twenty years ago, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry’s (IFPI) Online Music Report first mentioned music streaming as a potentially relevant source of revenue for the phonographic industry, which at the time was still dominated by recorded music sales. However, it was not until 2010 that music streaming became commercially relevant, and in the years that followed it became almost the only source of revenue for the record industry. This blog series traces the history of the music streaming economy and its major players from the 1990s to the present day. In the first part, the revenue boom of music streaming in the international phonographic market is summarised in figures and analysed in more detail.