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Luminate’s year-end report reveals females dominate US music industry

Leading entertainment data partner, Luminate, has released its 2024 Year-End Music Report, which provides insights into the trends shaping today’s global music industry. With global streams nearing 5 trillion, and emerging markets driving growth, this latest report highlights significant shifts in audience behaviours, genre trends and global revenue opportunities.

Worldwide on-demand audio streams reached a record 4.8 trillion in 2024, an increase of 14% from 2023. Emerging markets led the charge, with ex-U.S. streaming growth outpacing the U.S. (+17.3% vs. +6.4%). Türkiye, Croatia, and Romania saw the highest growth rates for premium streaming. While U.S. artists maintain global dominance, rising stars from Mexico, Brazil, and India are increasingly reaching global audiences.

Pop was the fastest-growing genre in the U.S., overtaking Latin music, with female artists dominating 63.4% of the U.S. Top 100 pop streams. Taylor Swift’s dominance in 2024 earned her the top spot as the most-streamed songwriter and influential artist globally, bolstered by her album The Tortured Poets Department and record-breaking Eras Tour.

Analysis of the top 1,000 globally streamed songs placed Swift at the #1 spot, surpassing industry icons like Max Martin, who has written for Katy Perry, Britney Spears and Ariana Grande, and The Weeknd. Other names including Daniel Nigro, best known for his work with Olivia Rodrigo and Amy Allen, and whose writing credits include hits for Harry Styles and Halsey, completed the top five most-streamed songwriters chart.

Pop was the fastest-growing genre in the U.S., overtaking Latin music, with female artists dominating 63.4% of the U.S. Top 100 pop streams.

Despite its overall decline of 2.3%, R&B/Hip Hop remained the most-streamed genre in the U.S., while Rock continued to dominate deep catalogue streams with 72.6% of its streams coming from tracks released more than five years ago.

Country gained traction in international markets, including the UK, Australia and Canada, further growing its global fanbase. Christian / Gospel music saw a sharp rise among millennials and Gen Z streamers, now comprising 45% of the genre’s listeners compared to 39% in 2022.

Music remains the number one leisure activity in the U.S. with 75% of consumers counted as music listeners, 20% of which are considered ‘Super Fans’ who are fueling increased demand for music across streaming / digital consumption, physical, direct-to-consumer, live and other channels. Their influence is making them a cornerstone of commercial strategies for record companies for both established and new music talent.

Taylor Swift’s dominance in 2024 earned her the top spot as the most-streamed songwriter and influential artist globally.

Emerging formats such as short-form videos and gaming collaborations, further expanded avenues for music discovery, with campaigns like Fortnite Remix significantly boosting artist streams.

Music documentaries also proved to be a key driver of catalogue resurgence. Netflix’s Miss Americana, which was originally released in 2020, resurfaced as the fourth most-watched music documentary of 2024, thanks to Swift’s stellar year. These cross-promotional activities have cemented documentaries as powerful tools for driving revenue growth.

As the music landscape continues to diversify, Luminate’s report provides a data-driven roadmap for artists, rights holders, and investors alike.

Download the full report, here.

Music documentaries also proved to be a key driver of catalogue resurgence.

Image credit: ©Disney