The Global Music Market: Where Music Is Growing Fastest

A record: over $30 billion

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) has published its Global Music Report 2026, covering 2025. Global recorded music revenues grew 6.4% to $31.7 billion. It is the eleventh straight year of growth and the first time the market has passed $30 billion.

Streaming is the main engine, accounting for almost 70% of all revenue. There are now 837 million paid subscription accounts worldwide, 73 million more than a year earlier.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

The fastest regions

The most interesting part is not the US numbers but where music is growing fastest:

• Latin America: +17.1%. Its 16th year of growth in a row. Brazil climbed to No. 8 worldwide, and Mexico entered the top 10.
• Middle East and North Africa: +15.2%. Streaming makes up almost the entire market here (97.5%).
• Sub-Saharan Africa: +15.2%. South Africa accounts for most of the region's revenue.
• Asia: +10.9%. China grew 20.1% and overtook Germany to become the world's No. 4 market.

For comparison, the US and Canada grew 3.5% and Europe 5.6%. Global music depends less and less on a single market.

Vinyl keeps going

Physical formats are back in growth at +8%. Vinyl rose 13.7%, its 19th consecutive year of growth. Almost half of global physical revenue comes from Asia, mainly Japan.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Hear what the growing markets sound like

The best way to understand the numbers is to tune in to local radio. Stations from the Radio Finder catalogue:

Brazil and Latin America

• Nova Brasil FM – Brazilian MPB from Brasília.
• Sertaneja 106.7 – sertanejo, Brazil's most popular genre.
• Los 40 México – Mexico's biggest hits.
• La Mega Medellín – reggaeton and Latin pop from Colombia.

Africa

• Metro FM Lagos – live from Lagos, the home of Afrobeats.
• Kaya FM – a popular Johannesburg station.
• Amapiano FM – amapiano, the South African genre that became a hit far beyond its home country.

Middle East and Asia

• Libyana Hits FM – Arabic pop music.
• Medi 1 Soufi – Sufi and spiritual music from Morocco's Medi 1.
• J1 Gold – Japanese pop classics, for a taste of the world's second-largest market.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

What it means for listeners

The more Brazil, Nigeria or China grow, the more often their artists reach global charts. New hits come from Los Angeles and London less and less exclusively. Radio from different countries is an easy way to hear them before everyone else.

Sources: IFPI Global Music Report 2026, Music Business Worldwide.