Music Streams Had Record Year, Topped 375 Billion In 2017: Report

If you’re not part the music streaming crowd in terms consumption yet, it’s probably time you give it some serious thought. As last year, combined totals for services like Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal and more have contributed to a 50 percent increase in usage, according to a new report from Variety.

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In short, 2017 was a breakout year for streaming. The total number music streams reached 377 billion, and it’s not just those getting a free ride who are using the services anymore. Of that giant total, 80 percent those listens came from subscribers, a massive increase over where those numbers were in 2016. Meanwhile, physical downloads (‘memba those?) continue to fall down the rabbit hole to the point near-invisibility. Both album and song sales saw a significant drop, by 14.6 percent and 23.2 percent respectively, a stat that was buoyed in particular by digital downloads.

Because the nostalgic appeal vinyl and now cassette tapes (what is this world coming to…), physical media haven’t seen such a sharp decline. As a result, streaming versus digital downloads isn’t close to being a fair fight anymore. Just to give you an idea, there were more than twice as many streams per day, on average, in 2017 as there were digital downloads during the entire year. Seriously: 1.67 billion to 563.7 million is that margin. This revelation shows that Apple’s plan to discontinue digital downloads as early as next year, while shocking to some, is now an inevitability.