Digital music distribution worldwide

What to know about digital music distribution in different parts of the world

With any music distributor you select, you would want to ensure that it possesses the technical competencies, resources, and, sometimes, relationships that can help you get your music on platforms spread across the globe. Occasionally, this is done by simply uploading your tracks with partners and platforms that have global reach. Otherwise, it can involve partnering up with a digital music distribution teams, which expedites the progress on your tracks in accomplishing a position on both platforms as well as playlists available around the world. Thus, it is crucial for you to partner up with a distributor, who is not bound by geographies and keeps the potential to spread your wonderful work to listeners located in different parts of the world.

Studies from IFPI reveal that in 2017, the share of digital music in the overall music industry has surged up tremendously, accounting for more than half – 54% of the music market, with the U.S. market making maximum profits in the digital music segment worldwide. In 2016, U.S. had about 92.2 million streaming users, with approximately 39.3 million users downloading from digital music platforms. It has been forecasted that streaming music is likely to capture the market, becoming the main source of digital music in the country.

US is reported to be a leader in the field of digital music consumption, followed by Germany, UK and France. Closing in are the Asian and Australian markets, which witnessed revenue growth of 5.4%, for the third consecutive year. Digital revenues surged 22.4%, partly offset by a 7.5% downward movement in the digital downloads fragment. India, South Korea and Philippines lead the growth in digital music distribution in the Asian continent.

Globally, trends have drastically shifted in favor of digital music in all areas of business, from music creation to distribution in the start, to streaming and downloading music at consumers’ end. And in the recent years, growth in digital music distribution has not been constrained by geographies, or continental boundaries. It is now a widespread trend across all continents with dynamic growth and expansion of technology and innovation.