Music streaming globally surpassed four trillion streams for the first time in 2023.
According to a year-end report from market monitor Luminate, 2023 was the biggest year for music streaming yet. On-demand audio-only streams worldwide reached an astonishing 4.1 trillion in the year, rising 22.3 percent from 3.4 trillion in 2022. Additionally, on-demand song streams, which also include videos, rose by 33.7 percent from 2022 with 7.1 trillion streams in total. When accounting for just the United States, audio and video song streams grew by 14.6 percent to 1.5 trillion. On-demand audio-only streams weren't far behind at 1.2 trillion.
The report accounts for all streaming services and includes a list of the top-streamed albums in the United States. Morgan Wallen's One Thing at a Time topped the list with 5.362 million total album-equivalent consumption units, which factors in album sales, track equivalent albums, and on-demand streaming equivalent albums. Taylor Swift sits at No. 2 with Midnights bringing in 3.209 million, while SZA garnered 3.172 million.
Wallen makes a second appearance on the list at No. 5 with 2.179 million units for Dangerous: The Double Album, while Swift also occupies the No. 4, No. 6, No. 7, No. 8, and No. 9 positions. The only other three artists on the top albums chart include Travis Scott's Utopia at No. 7 and 1.782 million total album-equivalent consumption units, and Metro Boomin's Heroes & Villains at No. 10 with 1.573 million units.
"As the trend of global streaming expands, evidenced by a plus-34 percent surge in 2023 according to our data, Luminate is committed to enhancing the international scope of the data and insights we provide," said Luminate CEO Rob Jonas. "We’re pleased to present this report, fueled predominantly by our new country-level streaming data and amplified by insights from our audience research."
