Australia remains world’s #6 music market

The Australian music market continues to rank as sixth largest in the world, according to the IFPI’s 2014 Recording Industry In Numbers report.

The US remains the largest market, which at $4.47 billion represents 30% of global trade revenues. At #2 is Japan ($3.01 billion), then Germany ($1.37 billion), the UK ($1.30 billion) and France ($956 million).

Revenues from digital channels increased by 4.3% in 2013 and now account for 39% of overall industry trade revenues. Digital is now the dominant source of revenue in eight of the Top 20 music markets.

Overall global recorded music trade revenues declined by 3.9% in 2013, which is attributed to the 16.7% decline in Japan, a market in which the rise of smartphones has killed the once-booming ringtone industry.

With Japan removed from the IFPI statistics, global revenues in 2013 held relatively steady, with a slight decline of 0.1%. The top six markets in Europe: France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden and the UK, all grew, with Europe as a whole seeing growth in the market for the first time in 12 years.

Argentina (up 68.5%), Peru (up 148.5%), South Africa (up 106.8%) and Venezuela (up 84.9%) all experienced impressive growth, as these markets begin to experience more streamlined sales and streaming channels.