The global recorded music industry has hit a milestone not seen in over two decades. According to the IFPI Global Music Report 2026, recorded music revenues reached $31.7 billion in 2025, the highest figure since 1999, not adjusted for inflation. It marks the 11th consecutive year of growth, with gains recorded across every region in the world.
Streaming remains the engine driving everything. Subscription streaming revenues surpassed $22 billion, representing 69.6% of total recorded music earnings. The number of paid streaming subscribers globally now stands at 837 million, up from 752 million the previous year. That growth is consistent, broad-based, and showing no signs of slowing.
Physical formats delivered a notable rebound. Led by a 13.7% rise in vinyl sales, physical music grew 8% in 2025 after a 3% decline in 2024. Performance rights revenue reached $2.9 billion, while synch income and downloads each saw modest declines. The U.S. held its position as the world’s largest market with 38.7% of global revenues, growing 3.3% year over year and adding more than $400 million in revenue.
The fastest-growing regions tell an important story about where music is heading. Latin America led all regions with revenue growth of 17.1%, with Brazil and Mexico both placing in the global top ten markets. China overtook Germany to become the fourth-largest market globally, posting 20.1% growth. The Middle East and North Africa grew 15.2%, with streaming accounting for 97.5% of the region’s total revenues.
Taylor Swift was 2025’s biggest-selling global artist for the fourth consecutive year, with the top five rounded out by Stray Kids, Drake, The Weeknd, and Bad Bunny. ROSÉ and Bruno Mars’ “APT.” was the year’s biggest-selling single, while Swift’s 12th studio album ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ led across all album formats.
The IFPI also flagged a growing threat that the industry cannot afford to ignore. Streaming fraud, accelerated by generative AI, is redirecting revenues away from artists and rightsholders at an increasing rate. Deezer reported receiving more than 60,000 fully AI-generated tracks daily in January 2026, with 85% of streams on AI-generated music across the platform in 2025 flagged as fraudulent, a 70% increase from the year prior. IFPI and its member companies are pursuing direct legal action, with manipulation services disrupted and shut down across Germany, France, Norway, Brazil, and Canada. The message from the industry is direct: streaming fraud is theft, and the organizations with the data and leverage to stop it must act.