Extract from ABC News
There may be a cost-of-living crisis, but Australians are still spending record amounts on music.
The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) has published its sales figures for 2023.
The value of music sales grew for the fifth year in a row to $676 million in 2023.
"I think what it shows is that Australians value music very highly," ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd said.
"I think people genuinely find music is a comfort, a source of something that's going to help them get through what they're going through.
"And perhaps that cost of living stress is building into that as well."
The figures show the industry has grown by almost 11 per cent from the previous year.
The data is calculated by counting the number of streams, downloads and physical media sales of music.
Streaming leads the way
Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of people consume music via a streaming service like Spotify or Apple Music.
Australians spent $467 million on paid subscription services last year, accounting for 69 per cent of revenue.
Despite the industry growing, it seems the cost is a driver of consumer behaviour when it comes to music.
The fastest growing part of the market was free music streamers like Spotify Free and YouTube.
"Ad-supported streaming is growing at a rate of 15 per cent, which is slightly outpacing subscription at 13 per cent," said Ms Herd.
"But overall, I think it just shows that there is a lot of value in music and people are recognising that."
The 2023 Deloitte Media & Entertainment Consumer report tells a similar story, with 12 per cent of people who had a paid music subscription deciding to cancel last year.
The average monthly household entertainment spend – covering streamers, news pay walls as well as music – dropped from $62 to $57 according to Deloitte.
Despite this shift, the Deloitte report also shows 48 per cent of Australian households have a paid music subscription.
Vinyl records continue to be a hit
It might be the format of generations past, but vinyl is proving to companion rather than a competitor to the streamers.
Sales of vinyl grew 14 per cent to $42 million in 2023, representing 70 per cent of the music sold on a physical format.
"At a time when artists are kind of reaching their fans in so many different ways, vinyl's, as demonstrated by these figures, still a really important way for artists to connect and perform a deeper engagement with their fans," Ms Herd said.
That figure doesn't include the massive collector and second-hand markets.
"What makes people buy something on vinyl is that they feel such a strong connection to that artist," Blake Budak, owner of Landspeed Records in Canberra, said.
Mr Budak crunched his own data set for vinyl sales in 2023 and the top three sellers are certainly from the Spotify generation.
"[They were] Phoebe Bridgers, Lana Del Ray, and of course Taylor Swift [was] the ubiquitous artist of 2023," he said.
Costs up like everything else
Australians may love their music, but like everything else the cost is going up.
Spotify increased the price of its premium subscriber package from $11.99 to $12.99 last year.
Apple music jumped three dollars, from $9.99 to $12.99.
"Vinyl prices have definitely gone up in the last couple of years, something that we can't control" Mr Budak said.
"But we haven't seen a massive downturn in sales as result of that."
On vinyl, a special edition of a popular album like Taylor Swift's 1989 can cost around $80.
Standard editions of vinyl alums, whether new or re-released, range from $40 to $60.
Olivia, a customer at Landspeed records said she streams most music on Spotify, but will buy her favourites on vinyl.
"Usually it's albums of artists who I already really like and just want to experience the music more," she said.
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