Fresh off the release of RIAA revenue numbers MusicWatch shared its year-end numbers assessing the size of the US streaming market and how music listening is evolving. Among the internet using population 13 and older MusicWatch reported a record 165 million streamers in 4Q, based on listening at least one hour in the prior week.
MusicWatch noted that, for the first time, the number listening to a paid service in the US exceeded 100M. This includes those who personally pay for the subscription, share on a family plan, share someone else’s log-on, or use a free trial. The number listening to a free service hit 190M, including listening to or watching music videos on YouTube.
MusicWatch reported that streaming continues to grow share of weekly listening, which grew to a 38 percent share from 34 percent year-ago.
In the fast growing premium segment, Spotify extended its share of paid subscriptions during 2018, with a six share point gain to 39 percent.
More at MusicWatch