Streaming revenues surged 60 per cent in 2016

Streaming enjoyed its most successful year ever in 2016, recording a 60 per cent rise in income.

2016 also marked the second consecutive year of growth for the music industry, with a 5.9 per cent expansion, the fastest since records began in 1997. Streaming has fuelled the faltering industry’s recovery, which suffered a loss of close to 40 per cent of its revenues in the previous 15 years.

For the first time digital income accounted for half of the industry’s revenue. Physical sales fell again, by 7.6 per cent.

Popular artists such as Drake and David Bowie contributed to the significant growth in streaming, with the user numbers of Spotify and Apple Music continuing to rise.

Frances Moore, the CEO of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), said: “As an industry, we've had years of investment in innovation to make [growth] happen, and we're starting to see the shift ... from adapting to the digital age, to actually driving the digital age.”

Despite the good news, Stu Bergen, CEO of International and Global Commercial Services at Warner Music Group, warned against complacency, saying: "We're only two years into our recovery. We must remain alert, resourceful and ambitious. We're no longer running up a down escalator, but that doesn't mean we can relax."

Patrick Hinton is Mixmag's Digital Staff Writer, follow him on Twitter