IFPI report offers more data to fuel the "value gap" debate

Global music body the IFPI has published its latest "Connecting With Music" report, based on a survey of 16-64 year-old internet users in 13 of the world’s biggest music markets. It provides plenty of talking points, particularly around music fans’ use of YouTube and the ongoing "value gap" debate about its payouts.

Figures show that 45% of people surveyed are listening to “licensed audio streaming” services, up from 37% in 2016. But the IFPI adds that video-streaming services are still much more popular in terms of usage. The report claims that while 22% of on-demand music-streaming time comes from free audio services and 23% from paid ones, 55% comes from video-streaming services, with 46% from YouTube alone.

Legal audio-streaming is on the rise, including impressive increases in paid subscriptions, and it’s impossible to know how much faster those rises would be if YouTube’s safe-harbour protections were reined in. The report’s finding that “on average, consumers listen to music in four different licensed ways” does point to YouTube as a service often used alongside other services – radio included – rather than always instead of them.

According to the document, 85% of 13-15 year-olds are streaming music through audio and/or video services: a welcome reminder that music appears to be holding its own in the "attention economy". 33% of them pay for their own music-streaming subscription, while 36% are part of a family subscription plan. Meanwhile, 50% of internet users overall have paid for licensed music in the last six months – a figure that includes downloads.

Read the full report (PDF): http://tinyurl.com/y7vug79b