The global audio streaming market is poised to witness massive growth on the back of consumers’ increasing proclivity towards music streaming services. Audio streaming involves listening to streaming media over the internet or a computer network without downloading files to a device. It allows users to stream music, podcasts or radio across a variety of connected devices, without owning local digital copies of the content. With digitization and rising smartphone penetration worldwide, audio streaming is becoming a popular way to discover and enjoy music.
The Global audio streaming market is estimated to be valued at US$ 38.27 Bn in 2024 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 14% over the forecast period of 2023 to 2030.
Consumers’ shift to on-demand music streaming platforms from traditional radio has fuelled strong growth in subscriptions and ad-supported revenues. The audio streaming industry has witnessed the proliferation of popular platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, among others that have disrupted the music industry. Their wide music libraries, personalized playlists and recommendation engines have changed how people discover and interact with music. Additionally, audio streaming requires lesser data storage and allows users to listen to music from virtually anywhere, owing to proliferation of smartphones and broadband connectivity.
Key Takeaways
Key players operating in the audio streaming market are Apple Inc., Deezer, Alphabet Inc., Guvera Ltd., Hungama.com Pvt. Ltd., Microsoft Corp., Pandora Media Inc., Rhapsody International Inc., Saavn, LLC, and Spotify. Spotify continues to be the global market leader due to its extensive music library and platform reach. However, Apple Music has gained significant momentum in recent times riding on the large iPhone customer base.
Some of the key opportunities in the global audio streaming market include platform innovations to enhance user experience, increasing focus of players on emerging markets, subscriptions for ad-free music streaming, and expansion of personalized music recommendation services. Major players are focusing on strategic partnerships and acquisitions to bolster their content portfolio and global footprint. For instance, Spotify has expanded to over 90 countries including Middle East and Latin America in recent times.
The rising adoption of smart devices and wearables is resulting in higher demand for wireless audio streaming solutions. Expanding middle class in emerging nations, coupled with increasing disposable incomes also augur well for market growth over the coming years. Additionally, improving connectivity infrastructure would aid audio streaming adoption, especially in rural regions of developing countries.
Market Drivers
The global audio streaming market is primarily driven by rising smartphone penetration worldwide and growing popularity of streaming platforms. Additionally, increasing tech-savviness of younger demographic and their preference for on-demand audio content is significantly spurring market revenues. Rising per capita income in developing countries is also enabling consumers to pay for streaming subscriptions.
Market Restraints
Limited connectivity in remote areas and high data costs act as an impediment for audio streaming adoption. Piracy issues and lack of copyright regulations also pose challenges for monetization of content. Infrastructure bottlenecks and poor network bandwidth availability in underdeveloped regions further hinder market potential to some extent.
Segment Analysis
By service type, the audio streaming music sub segment dominates the market Currently accounting for over 50% of revenues and user base. This is because music streaming allows easy access to large catalogues of songs on-demand without needing to download or own digital copies of the music files. Users can create personalised playlists and access their favorite songs from any internet-connected device.
By platform, the mobile/app segment is the fastest growing and accounts for the largest share. The growth of smartphones and declining data costs have made mobile the preferred way to access music streaming services for most users. Audio streaming apps allow subscribers to listen offline and on-the-go without interruptions from WiFi or data connectivity issues.
Global Analysis
The North America region dominates the global audio streaming market currently accounting for over 35% share. High smartphone and internet penetration along with widespread adoption of streaming services by large tech companies have fueled audio streaming growth in the region. The Asia Pacific region is projected to be the fastest growing market during the forecast period aided by expanding middle class, youth population and growing consumption of digital entertainment in large developing economies like China and India. Growth in Latin America and Middle East & Africa will be supported by increasing investments by streaming companies and affordable data plans promoting higher smartphone usage in urban areas.
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- Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
- We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it