Australia has reached an important milestone, with music streaming revenue surpassing digital and physical music sales for the very first time as the local music industry continues to rebound.
Figures released by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) today show that streaming is now the dominant music format down under, making up 38.5 per cent of the market by value after having grown by 90.5 per cent in 2016.
The figures also show that the Aussie music industry saw a 5.5 per cent increate in revenue last year, hitting a total of $352.2 million after another 5 per cent increase back in 2015.
Meanwhile, CD sales are continuing to decline, but vinyl’s popularity is still rising. Vinyl revenue increased by 70 per cent last year, marking the sixth consecutive year that the demand for vinyl has gone up.
2016 also saw a record number of Aussie acts (20, to be exact) score number one albums on the ARIA Charts, which is a big deal.
As ARIA CEO Dan Rosen says, “It is truly exciting times for our local industry, with 2017 already seeing four Australian acts already having Number One Albums, multiple ARIA award winner Flume winning a Grammy, and a growing number of our local artists having success on the international stage.
“To think that the dominant form of our revenue is now derived from a category that did not exist five years ago demonstrates the innovative nature of the Australian music business.”
See the colourful graph below for a visual representation of where the Aussie music industry is heading.
ARIA Total Market Value (2014– 2016)
Image: Supplied
