Streaming Dominates Downloads As Vinyl Sales Slump In The US

Nobody wants to own anything anymore.

The future is looking good for music streaming services operating in the United States. For the first time ever, streaming accounted for a majority of the US music industry’s overall revenue: 51 percent to be exact. This increase in streaming has accounted for an 11.4 percent overall growth in industry revenue, which is the first double-digit growth in 20 years.

At the same time, streaming’s popularity has also eaten into more traditional methods of music consumption, such as downloads and physical sales. This can perhaps be felt in the niche market of vinyl sales—which, though still going strong, fell short of its amazing 38 percent growth from 2012 to 2015 by only showing a 1.8 percent rise. Overall, the US music industry is in the best place it’s been since 1998. Streaming seems to be the future. Downloads and vinyl sales are slowing. And CDs are totally screwed. But you knew that already, didn’t you?

Read more: Vinyl is actually more popular than digital downloads

(Via Billboard)