Australian music celebrates four years of growth

New figures released today by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) reveal wholesale revenue from recorded music reached $609.6 million in 2022, up 7.4% from $567.8 million in 2021, a growth figure that exceeds leading markets like the USA, the UK and France.

The Australian recorded music industry hit a 16-year high in calendar 2022, with wholesale sales posting a fourth consecutive year of growth, as well as a three percentage point increase in growth since 2021.

Streaming and vinyl albums are once again the key drivers of growth in the Australian market, as subscription streaming services rose 8.9% to $410.7 million, comprising 67.4% of the industry. Video streaming experienced an even larger growth margin of 10.5%, reaching $60.7 million.

Subscription streaming services accounted for 74.5% of total digital sales in 2022, as download sales fell 17.7% to $19.2 million. Despite this, total digital sales were up 7.8% to $551.3 million, representing 90.4% of all music sales – more than 50% higher than sales figures a decade ago.

Vinyl albums continued their growth, jumping nearly 23% to $36.9 million, making them the fastest growing category. Vinyl accounted for 63.4% of total physical sales in 2022 by dollar value and 36.2% of physical sales by volume.

ARIA Chief Executive Officer, Annabelle Herd, said: “Music plays such an important role in the every day lives of Australians. It has helped us through a number of difficult years and more recently, played an integral role in reconnecting communities in the wake of the pandemic as artists reunited with fans across the country. It’s thrilling to see this reflected by growth in Australian music sales across 2022 with a figure in line with, if not slightly ahead, other major global markets – particularly after a comparatively slower growth figure in 2021.

“There is, however, work to be done in ensuring new Australian artists are being discovered and their stories heard. The continued growth of subscription services is a great indicator that more Australians are listening to more music than ever, but it also highlights the significant role these platforms play in driving discoverability, given they account for substantially more than half of overall consumption.

“The lack of a single Australian album in the ARIA Albums Chart last week alone proves the need to develop an urgent strategy with all players involved in the Australian music ecosystem to ensure that the growing number of Australian music lovers can connect with Australian artists.”