Spotify, Apple Boost Music Business to Best Year in Two Decades
- Growth of 11 percent in 2016 is fastest since 1998, RIAA says
- But industry revenue is still half 1999 peak as CD sales wane
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The growing popularity of Spotify and Apple Music is nursing the music industry back to health after years of declining sales.
In 2016, U.S. music sales grew 11% to $7.7 billion, the Recording Industry Association of America said Thursday. That’s the biggest jump since 1998, when the industry sold almost six times as many CDs. Streaming, a category that includes Spotify, Pandora and YouTube, accounted for 51 percent, the first time it has contributed the majority of revenue.