On-Demand Streaming Up 54%, With 164 Billion Streams in 2014 Vinyl LP Sales Increase 52% – now comprise over 6% of physical album sales Radio Remains Top Source for Music Discovery
New York – Jan. 7, 2015 – Nielsen, the music industry’s leading data information provider announces today the 2014 U.S. Music year-end report for the 12-month period of Dec. 30, 2013 through Dec. 28, 2014.
Streaming continued to show significant growth in 2014, with over 164 billion songs streamed on-demand through audio and video platforms. Physical album sales declined, with weakness in CDs despite record-setting strength in vinyl LPs. Digital albums and digital tracks also showed declines versus 2013, although digital consumption overall (sales and streams) showed growth. Total consumption for the year, based on albums plus track equivalent albums and streaming equivalent albums, was down slightly versus 2013.
“Music fans continue to consume music through on-demand streaming services at record levels, helping to offset some of the weakness that we see in sales,” says David Bakula, SVP Industry Insights, Nielsen. “The continued expansion of digital music consumption is encouraging, as is the continued record setting growth that we are seeing in vinyl LP sales.”
Nielsen provides music research and monitoring services for the entertainment industry. Nielsen’s airplay, sales and streaming data represents music consumers of all ethnicities and languages, and is featured weekly in Billboard’s charts, including the iconic Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200, and is widely cited as the standard for music measurement.
For the complete release, including sales, record company market share, and top song and record data, click here.
About Nielsen
Nielsen (NYSE: NLSN) is a global information and measurement company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence and mobile measurement. Nielsen has a presence in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA, and Diemen, the Netherlands. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.
