On-demand music streaming hit a new record high in the country in 2023. A report by a music and entertainment data analysis company Luminate revealed that over the past year, more than 4 trillion songs were listened to in this format.
This figure represents an increase of 22.3% compared to the total number of streams recorded in 2022. That year, the report recalls, a total of 3.4 trillion songs were streamed.
On a global level, the numbers also reflect a significant increase. According to the report, in 2023, a total of 7.1 trillion songs were streamed, 33.7% more than the previous year, when the number of songs that were listened to in this format was 5.3 trillion. Luminate CEO, Rob Jonas, told Variety during the launch of the report:
As the trend of global streaming expands, evidenced by a +34% surge in 2023 according to our data, Luminate is committed to enhancing the international scope of the data and insights we provide. We’re pleased to present this report, fueled predominantly by our new country-level streaming data and amplified by insights from our audience research. We aim to capture the trends that defined the music industry over the past year across 50 diverse markets. It also reflects the innovative strategies our team applied in managing data in 2023, including new partnerships with companies such as Deezer, Melon, Flo and Anghami. We look forward to continuing that collaborative approach in 2024.
Music in Spanish on the rise
The report also revealed which genres experienced the greatest growth in the United States in 2023. According to the data, country, Latin and world music were the ones that increased their number of streams the most last year.
Country music saw an increase of 23.7%, while Latin genres grew 24.1%. World music, which includes subgenres such as J-pop, K-pop and Afrobeat, increased by 26.2%.
The United States is increasingly listening to non-English music. The Luminate report revealed that, among the 10,000 most played songs in the United States, there were many more songs in Spanish than last year. In fact, the data analysis company assured that the appearance of songs in Spanish on this list had grown by 3.8%, almost entirely replacing songs in English.
Taylor Swift on top
Taylor Swift reigned supreme in 2023. The artist, whom Time magazine named person of the year, represented 1.7% of the entire American recorded music market last year.
Her albums also dominated the music scene. Luminate's year-end report claimed that five of the top 10 albums of 2023 in the United States belong to the Pennsylvania-born singer, Taylor Swift.
