Australian recorded music industry posts sixth consecutive year of growth

Newly released data from the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) shows the Australian recorded music industry posted its sixth consecutive year of growth in 2024, with wholesale sales rising 6.1% to $717 million.

The data reveals the industry growth was fuelled by both physical and digital sales, with total digital sales outpacing physical at 6.5% compared to 2.1%.  The digital market now represents $656 million, or 91.5% of the total market.

Subscription services continue to be the dominant force at play, increasing their market share by another two percentage points to represent 71.0% of Australia’s total music market, or $509 million, a figure 8.9% larger than 2023. Ad supported streaming models slowed dramatically however, from a 15.3% jump in revenue in 2023 to just 1.9% growth in 2024.

Vinyl albums continue to be the star of the show for physical sales, growing 5.6% in revenue despite a very slight decline in the quantity of sales of 0.5%. Vinyl represented 72.8% of total physical sales in 2024 by dollar value and 45.7% of physical sales by volume.

ARIA Chief Executive, Annabelle Herd noted “market conditions have been anything but stable over the past year, so for the Australian recording industry to achieve a sixth consecutive year of growth speaks 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. This isn’t just a resilient music listening market, it’s a thriving one, and that’s something to be proud of.

“At the same time, breaking new Australian music has never been more competitive, something everyone in the industry knows firsthand. Every new track is launching into an increasingly crowded landscape, with local and international artists vying for attention in media and on all discovery and listening platforms.

“In this fiercely competitive market, Australian music must be better than it’s ever been. We have incredible talent and numerous success stories from the past year, but our challenge is how to make more of our artists and their recordings stand out on a local and global stage. Now is the time to try new things and be bold. ARIA’s focus is squarely on promoting initiatives and programs designed to grow audience, grow export, and develop a highly skilled and innovative local music industry. These initiatives will take time to come to full fruition, but the opportunity is there and it is big.

“Connecting local success stories with Australia’s passionate music fans remains our focus and our mission.”