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FYI

US Music Industry Sees Fastest Growth in More Than 20 Years

This is the first time since 1999 that US music revenues grew materially for two years in a row, while gaps in core rights continue to distort the marketplace and deprive recording artists and songwriters of the royalties they deserve.

US Music Industry Sees Fastest Growth in More Than 20 Years

By FYI Staff

The music business posted its fastest growth since Boyz II Men and Hootie & the Blowfish topped the charts 23 years ago.


US recorded music sales climbed 17 percent to $8.7 billion last year, the second straight gain in domestic revenue, the Recording Industry Association of America said Thursday.

At wholesale, revenues grew 12.6% to $5.9 billion. These increases were driven by more than 35 million paid subscriptions, a 56% growth year-over-year.

This is the first time since 1999 that US music revenues grew materially for two years in a row, while gaps in core rights continue to distort the marketplace and deprive recording artists and songwriters of the royalties they deserve.

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See the full report here and read more from RIAA Chairman & CEO Cary Sherman in his Medium commentary here.

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Macklemore at Rolling Stone Future of Music held at ACL Live at the Moody Theater on March 17, 2023, in Austin, Texas.
Dusana Risovic/Rolling Stone

Macklemore at Rolling Stone Future of Music held at ACL Live at the Moody Theater on March 17, 2023, in Austin, Texas.

Music News

Macklemore Donates $1M in Ed Sheeran Tour Earnings to Palestinian Aid, Calls on Robert Kraft to Match It

"Writing a check is one of the least costly forms of solidarity available to me," the rapper said.

Macklemore is challenging Robert Kraft to put his money where his mouth is amid the controversy surrounding Ed Sheeran‘s Loop Tour and the “Free Palestine” debate.

The rapper spoke out once again Wednesday (Sept. 16) after a two-day frenzy that saw every single one of Sheeran’s tour openers pulling out of Loop in solidarity with Palestinians and with Macklemore, who was dropped from the trek over his onstage protests earlier in the month against the violence in Gaza. “With everything that has happened over the last 48 hours, I want to bring the conversation back to where it belongs,” he wrote.

This article was first published by Billboard U.S.

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