Australians spent a record $700m on music in 2024 despite cost of living crunch: ARIA

Australia’s music industry has posted growth for the sixth-straight year in 2024 as consumers spend record amounts despite higher cost-of-living pressures.

Australians spent $717 million on music last year, 6.1 per cent higher than in 2023, according to fresh figures from the Australian Recording Industry Association on Thursday.

Total sales for digital platforms grew 6.5 per cent, outpacing physical formats at 2.1 per cent.

ARIA said paid subscription services, like Spotify Premium and Apple Music, continued to be the dominant force as revenue grew 8.9 per cent to $509m.

But ad-supported streaming models, including YouTube Music, slowed dramatically from a 15.3 per cent jump in revenue in 2023 to just 1.9 per cent growth in 2024.

The surprise resurrection of vinyl continued to be the star of the show for physical sales, growing 5.6 per cent in revenue despite a slight decline in the quantity sold.

ARIA chief executive Annabelle Herd said the sixth consecutive year of growth spoke volumes about the “enduring connection Australians have with music”.

“While digital dominates, the sustained demand for physical formats like vinyl shows that fans want to engage with music in multiple ways,” she said.

“This isn’t just a resilient music listening market, it’s a thriving one, and that’s something to be proud of.”

But Ms Herd said breaking new Australian music had never been more competitive, with local and international artists vying for attention in the media and on all listening platforms.

Sales for compact disc declined 5.6 per cent, while music videos and DVDs crashed nearly 20 per cent.

American singer Benson Boone topped ARIA’s top 100 singles chart for 2024 with his song Beautiful Things. He was closely followed by Sabrina Carpenter’s Espresso and Noah Kahan’s Stick Season.