According to the latest IFPI Global Report 2022 released this week, the world’s recorded music market grew by a significant 18.5% last year, the seventh consecutive year of growth to a record $25.9 billion. This was thanks to an increase in listeners who paid for subscription streaming and a recovery in physical retail following post COVID-19 lockdowns – which witnessed growth for the first time in 20 years.

IFPI Chief Executive Frances Moore said,

“Around the world, record companies are engaging at a very local level to support music cultures and bring on the development of emerging music ecosystems – championing local music and creating the opportunities for it to reach a global audience”.

As the world’s economy slowly returns and live music performances are starting to make a come back, the competition in the music industry will only continue to grow. With more streaming players and new platforms entering the market, fans will now have more options to choose from when it comes to enjoying their favourite music.

In addition to total streaming revenues, returns from performance rights and synchronisation, the use of recorded music in adverts, film, television, and games also recorded growth. The biggest jump in music revenue comes from the Middle East and North Africa, with a soaring rate of 35%. Latin America was next in rank with 31.2 % , followed by the US and Canada with 22 % and Asia with 16.1 %.

In the UK, Adele’s most highly anticipated comeback project “30” was unveiled as the biggest selling album of the year. With over five million copies sold globally, “30” is the overall winner of the Global Album All Format Chart for 2021. Her most personal album yet also tops the IFPI’s Global Album Sales Chart and the Inaugural IFPI Global Vinyl Album Chart. It’s not surprising to see sophomore projects from Harry Style and Billie Eilish making the second and fifth position respectively in the Vinyl’s Chart as these global superstars continue to  mark their dominance.

When it comes to the K-POP space, who can ignore the biggest selling boy band in the world? South Korean global superstars, BTS, are winners of the Global Artist of the Year. This is a phenomenal achievement and a major milestone for the recording industry as the South Korean group are the first act ever in history to top this category for the second consecutive year. The Global Artist of the Year award is calculated by considering the artists’ worldwide performance across digital and physical music formats, including digital streams, vinyl, physicals and all formats of work.  The seven-member boy band have not only become familiar faces and a household name in today’s music industry, but they also continue to dominate global charts like the Billboard Hot 100 for seven consecutive weeks with their instant catchy hit “Butter” in May 2021.

Their fellow South Korean counterparts SEVENTEEN also debut in the Global Artist of the Year chart at #9 to signal the growing wave of popularity and cultural influence of K-POP today.

Frances Moore reiterates the success and backs the work ethic of BTS. He said, “BTS’ phenomenal success over the last year is a testament to their creativity, hard work and ongoing commitment to continuing to find ways to bring their music to the world. By performing in three different languages, they demonstrate their extraordinarily unique global appeal and their dynamic and passionate fanbase has helped to make them the first artists in history to top the Global Artist Chart in two consecutive years. We would like to wish RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook and all who work on their team huge congratulations on winning the Global Recording Artist of the Year Award and on another year of brilliant success.”

Overall, the outlook for the music industry is optimistic. As more opportunities to experience and release music open up along with the recovery of the world’s economy, there will only be more exciting advances in the metaverse and technology space that will fuel music consumption.

In a snapshot, take a glimpse of the music revenue growth across every world’s market in 2021:

• Asia grew by 16.1%, with its largest market, Japan, seeing growth of 9.3%. Excluding Japan the region experienced a 24.6% climb in revenues. In a continuing trend, Asia also accounted for a significant share of the global physical revenues (49.6%).
• Australasia experienced growth of 4.1%. Australia (+3.4%) remained a top 10 market globally and New Zealand saw a rise in streaming revenues push the overall market to growth of 8.2%.
• Revenues in Europe, the second-largest recorded music region in the world, grew by 15.4%, a steep increase on the prior year’s growth rate of 3.2%. The region’s biggest markets all saw double digit percentage growth: UK (+13.2%), Germany (+12.6%) and France (+11.8%).
• Latin America saw growth of 31.2% – one of the highest growth rates globally. Streaming accounted for 85.9% of the market, one of the highest proportions in any region.
• Middle East and North Africa – split out as a separate region in the Global Music Report for the first time – experienced growth of 35.0%; the fastest regional growth rate globally. Streaming was a particularly strong driver in the region, with a 95.3% share of the market.
• Sub-Saharan Africa – also split out for the first time in IFPI’s reporting – saw revenue growth of 9.6% in 2021, largely driven by streaming. Ad-supported was particularly strong in this region, with revenues from this format growing by 56.4%.
• The USA & Canada region grew by 22.0% in 2021, outpacing the global growth rate. The USA market alone grew by 22.6% and Canadian recorded music revenues grew by 12.6%.

To view the free version of the Global Music Report 2021 – State of the Industry (English language), visit  https://www.ifpi.org/resources/