Some Eye-Opening Insights From The Latest IFPI Global Music Report
Every year the International Federation of the Phonograph Industry (IFPI) puts out a report regarding the state of the music business world-wide. Almost every year there are things that jump out, but sometimes the most important are a little buried and easily overlooked. Here are a couple of data points that I spotted from the latest Global Music Report 2025 that I think are worth noting.
Music Streaming Subscriber Numbers Are Astounding
I can remember back when streaming music was brand new that industry pundits often argued over whether the industry would ever hit 100 million subscribers. That was the number that most experts regarded as the break-even point where revenue from subscriptions would equal that of physical products.
Here we are almost 30 years later and the number of subscribers is heading towards a billion, with the latest figure at 837 million! In fact, that number has more than doubled just since 2020 alone.
The fact of the matter is that the number of subscribers has plateaued in most Western countries, but there’s great growth in South America, Africa, and parts of Asia. And yes, there’s still room to grow so that 1 billion benchmark is not out of reason.
China Has Become The Fourth Largest Market
According to the report, in 2025 China leapfrogged Germany to become the 4th largest music market.
On the surface this doesn’t seem like a big deal until you remember that back in the pre-covid days the Chinese market wasn’t generating much revenue despite its 1.4 billion population.
That’s because piracy was still big there, music copyright laws were pretty much ignored, music streaming had yet to take hold, and the middle class population had yet to prosper.
Today it’s a totally different landscape as there are 6 different major streaming platforms, although the industry is dominated by Tencent Music, and it’s all driven by a huge population of consumers that don’t mind paying for a streaming service.
Western music has also made great inroads, with Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Bruno Mars, the Chainsmokers, and even Michael Jackson (still) among many others having significant popularity there.
While all this signals good news for streaming and the music industry, the report pointed out that AI-enabled fraud is rising at an alarming rate. This is not only sapping revenue from deserving artists, but also souring subscribers being fed AI music slop.
The industry is not standing idly by though, as several initiatives from both labels and streaming platforms are attempting to counter this practice. But, just like piracy, this promises to be an ongoing battle that could take many years to decide.
The Global Music Report – State of the Industry 2025 is well worth the read, as you’ll discover much about the global music economy that may open your eyes.
