Revenues from digital music have surpassed that of traditional music formats for the first time, according to a report by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).
As the Guardian reports, digital revenues worldwide – made up of streaming subscriptions, downloads, and advertising revenue from sites like YouTube – accounted for 45% of total music-related revenue in 2015, compared with 39% for physical formats like CDs, cassettes and vinyl.
The IFPI mostly put this figure down to the surging popularity of streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music and others. This increased popularity helped make up the music industry’s first growth in revenue since 1995, coming in at £10.2 billion. However, the music industry continues to face the problem of how artists can be properly and fairly renumerated in the age of streaming music over buying it physically.
