Updated: October 1, 2025

The global music industry in 2025 continues to grow — but the growth is uneven across different segments (streaming, live, publishing, brand partnerships). Below is a snapshot of the market based on the latest available 2025 data.

Key Figures

• Global recorded music revenues (2024): $29.6 billion (+4.8% YoY). Streaming surpassed $20.4 billion and made up 69% of all recorded revenues. Performance rights for recordings reached $2.9 billion (+5.9%).

• Live music (Live Nation 2024 as benchmark): $23.1 billion revenue, 151 million fans across 54,000 events in 51 countries. Revenue split: 82% concerts, 13% ticketing, 5% sponsorship & advertising.

• Music publishing (compositions & rights): €15.8 billion (2023) — of which €11.7 billion came from collective management (CISAC) and €3.88 billion from direct deals. Publishers’ share in total: €9.8 billion.

Market Breakdown (Numbers & Percentages)

Streaming (recorded music)

• 69% of recorded music revenues in 2024. Paid subscriptions grew +9.5% with 752 million global subscribers.

• Growth is slowing in mature markets but expanding fast in regions like MENA, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America.

Live (concerts & touring)

• Live Nation, the world’s largest promoter, reported $23.1 billion revenue in 2024 with 151 million attendees.

• According to Pollstar, the Top 100 tours of 2024 generated $9.5 billion — led by Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour crossing $2 billion.

Partnerships & Sponsorship

• In live entertainment, sponsorship and advertising generated 5% of Live Nation’s total revenues in 2024. Brand activations and hospitality packages are increasingly important for festivals and stadium shows.

Publishing & Copyright Royalties

• CISAC collections (compositions) 2023: €13.1 billion (+7.6%), led by digital and live performance growth.

• IMPF 2025 report: publishing market (composers + publishers) €15.8 billion total; publishers’ share €9.8 billion; independents held 26.3%.

How Many Musicians Are There Worldwide?

There is no single official global figure, but two reliable proxies exist:

1. Creative & cultural sector employment (ILO/UNESCO framework):
   Around 46.2 million people employed globally in media & cultural sectors (2019). Musicians are a subset of this.

2. Artists with released music (Chartmetric data):
   Chartmetric tracked over 11.3 million artist profiles in 2024, with about 4,600 new artists added daily.

Conclusion: Globally, tens of millions of people are active in music-making, but those who have released music on digital platforms are in the multi-million range.

How Many Have Released Music?

• Chartmetric’s dataset: 11.3M+ artists with releases across DSPs (2024). This is the best transparent proxy for published/released artists worldwide.

• Release volume: ~99,000 new ISRCs per day were uploaded to DSPs in 2024 (Luminate).

How Many Are Actively Releasing?

There is no audited worldwide number, but indicators are clear:

• Luminate: ~99,000 ISRCs daily in 2024 → pointing to hundreds of thousands of active creators per month.

• Chartmetric: While 11M+ artists are tracked, only a fraction gain meaningful listener counts, showing intense competition.

Takeaway: There are millions of actively releasing artists, but exact counts vary depending on definition. The most reliable perspective is the combination of daily release volume (Luminate) and platform data (Chartmetric).

Market Segments in 2025

1) Recorded Music

• $29.6B (2024); streaming 69%; physical -3.1% (vinyl +4.6%); performance rights $2.9B.

• Fastest-growing regions: MENA +22.8%, Sub-Saharan Africa +22.6%, Latin America +22.5%.

2) Live

• $23.1B revenues (Live Nation 2024); 151M fans.

• $9.5B generated by the year’s Top 100 tours.

3) Publishing

• €15.8B (2023) for creators and publishers.

• €9.8B publishers’ share, with independents at 26.3%.

4) Partnerships & Sponsorship

• Sponsorship ~5% of Live Nation’s revenue in 2024.

• In publishing, sync deals (ads, film, TV, games) are a key driver of direct licensing growth.

What Does This Mean for Artists & Stakeholders?

• Streaming = scale, live = margin. Streaming drives recorded revenues, but live & sponsorship increase fan value, especially in large venues.

• Publishing is a steady pillar. Driven by digital growth and recovering performance royalties.

• Release volume is exploding. ~99,000 new ISRCs daily and over 200M tracks in catalogs → visibility is the main challenge.

Sources (Selected)

• IFPI – Global Music Report 2025 (March 2025)

• CISAC – Global Collections Report 2024

• IMPF – Global Market View: Independent Music Publishing 2025

• Live Nation – 2024 Annual Report

• Pollstar – 2024 Year-End Report

• Chartmetric – Year in Music 2024

• Luminate – Year-End Music Report 2024

• ILO – Employment in cultural & creative sectors (2019)

FAQ

Is there an official count of musicians worldwide?
No single figure exists. Cultural employment data (ILO) gives the broadest view (46.2M people in media & creative sectors), while platform datasets (Chartmetric) measure releasing artists (11.3M+).

Will the industry keep growing?
Yes. PwC estimates the global entertainment & media market will reach $3.5 trillion by 2029. Goldman Sachs projects music revenues to nearly double by 2035.

How Badenstock Helps

• Data-driven release strategies: target genres and regions with fastest growth (e.g. Latin America, MENA).

• Live + brand synergy: build concert pipelines and sponsorship packages to maximize fan value.

• Publishing revenues secured: ensure metadata, rights management and sync channels capture value properly.