The global music industry experienced a significant surge in 2024, reaching a record-breaking 4.8 trillion streams, marking a 14% increase from the previous year. This growth was primarily driven by the rising popularity of on-demand audio streaming, particularly among female pop performers.
In the United States, on-demand audio streams saw a 6.4% increase, totaling 1.4 trillion streams. The dominance of contemporary music was evident, with 79.5% of plays coming from songs released in 2010 or later. Notably, songs released between 2020 and 2024 accounted for nearly half of all streams.
Taylor Swift emerged as the most-streamed songwriter globally in 2024, contributing to the overall trend of pop music ruling the streaming charts. Latin music briefly held the title of the fastest-growing streaming genre in the U.S. midway through the year, but pop eventually took the lead, followed by rock and Latin.
Female solo artists played a significant role in driving the surge in pop music consumption, with Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, and other prominent artists dominating the streaming landscape. The top 10 global streaming songs featured a mix of popular artists, reflecting the diverse musical preferences of listeners.
While pop music claimed the top spot in streaming genres, Latin music continued to maintain its popularity, with regional Mexican music surpassing Latin pop as the largest Latin subgenre in the U.S. Regional Mexican music, encompassing various styles like mariachi and banda, garnered significant global attention, reaching 28.57 billion streams in 2024.
Despite the rise of pop music, rap and R&B genres remained strong contenders in the music streaming landscape, collectively accounting for a substantial portion of on-demand audio streams in the U.S. In 2024, rap and R&B genres led the way with 341.63 billion streams, followed by rock, pop, country, and Latin music.
