[INFOGRAPHIC] The Music Industry

Due to the growth of digital platforms the manner in which music is consumed has shifted drastically from analog sources such as CD to digital media players, downloads and streaming services.

Digital has surpassed physical (CD, tapes, vinyl) as the largest revenue segment in 2015 for the music industry (45% vs 39%). The US and the UK are the two biggest markets for digital music, with the US revenue amounting to 60% of total revenues and 12.5% for the UK.

While YouTube is not positioned as a music streaming service, it does have the largest number of music listeners (800M). Spotify has the largest following in terms of total music listeners within the streaming services segment, with 100 Million total listeners, and 40Million subscribers.

Spotify’s market value today is estimated at $10Billion dollars. Founded in 2008, the Swedish company introduced the concept of enabling listeners to access its catalogue of 30m+ songs on multiple platforms and devices. It has grown a substantial user base offering free access to its catalogue with advertisement, premium ad-free memberships, and developing brand partnership with companies such as Uber. Despite its popularity, you cannot listen to catchy Taylor Swift songs on the app. Some would argue it’s not that bad of a thing.