Over 4 Trillion Songs Were Streamed in 2023

Despite the fact that we know not all artists got paid fairly, there were over four trillion songs streamed in 2023.

According to market monitor Luminate year-end report, there were 4.1 trillion on-demand audio streams globally last year that were reported, 22.3% more than in 2022, when there were3.4 trillion. This proves that while record sales may be down, listening habits certainly are not, and folks are still craving music—at least digitally.

As fewer people make physical purchases or download music, it makes sense that these numbers are going up. AI and algorithms are getting smarter and keeping people listening longer, suggesting more and more songs. .

Worldwide on-demand song streams via audio and video were up to 33.7% in 2023, clocking in at 7.1 trillion in total and surpassing the 5.3 trillion on-demand song streams in 2022.

In the U.S., streaming grew by 14.6% with Taylor Swift, SZA, and Morgan Wallen heading the charge, clocking in at 1.5 trillion streams between the three artists. On-demand audio streams grew a 12.7%, reaching 1.2 trillion.

Of course, there are some definite upsides to this. More curated streaming platforms and playlists means that more folks are finding music they love, and even if it’s only a drop in the bucket, the streams do add up. But we also know that folks in the industry are not being compensated well unless they reach a high number of streams.

The mass amounts of streams shows that love of music certainly isn’t dead—We might just need to find a better way to monetize it.