Aussies Bought The Most Amount Of Music Since 2006 Last Year

In a new report unveiled by ARIA, last year’s annual statistics revealed that Australians bought and listened to more music than the previously-held record of the highest sales in 2006.

The revenue of our listening and buying habits increased to $609.6 million in 2022, up 7.4% from $567.8 million in 2021, a growth figure that exceeds leading markets like the USA, the UK and France.

The 16-year high also followed a four-year trend in growth, as 2021 saw a 3% monetary increase. 

Streaming and vinyl albums are once again the critical drivers of growth in the Australian market, as subscription streaming services rose 8.9% to $410.7 million, comprising 67.4% of the industry. Video streaming - does this include TikTok now? - experienced an even more significant growth margin of 10.5%, reaching $60.7 million.

Subscription streaming services accounted for 74.5% of total digital sales in 2022; download sales fell 17.7% to $19.2 million. Despite this, total digital sales were up 7.8% to $551.3 million, representing 90.4% of all music sales – more than 50% higher than sales figures a decade ago.

Vinyl albums continued their growth, jumping nearly 23% to $36.9 million, making them the fastest-growing category. Vinyl accounted for 63.4% of total physical sales in 2022 by dollar value and 36.2% of physical sales by volume.

While vinyl has proven to be a powerful physical medium in sales, CDs (17% decrease from 2021) and music DVDs (34% decrease from 2021) have fallen, DVD Albums, Mini Disks and SACD releases have increased by over 20,000 sales.

ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd commented, “Music plays such an important role in the everyday lives of Australians. It has helped us through a number of difficult years and, more recently, played an integral role in reconnecting communities in the wake of the pandemic as artists reunited with fans across the country. 

“It’s thrilling to see this reflected by growth in Australian music sales across 2022 with a figure in line with, if not slightly ahead, other major global markets – particularly after a comparatively slower growth figure in 2021.

“There is, however, work to be done in ensuring new Australian artists are being discovered, and their stories heard. 

“The continued growth of subscription services is a great indicator that more Australians are listening to more music than ever, but it also highlights the significant role these platforms play in driving discoverability, given they account for substantially more than half of overall consumption.”

Herd continued, “The lack of a single Australian album in the ARIA Albums Chart last week alone proves the need to develop an urgent strategy with all players involved in the Australian music ecosystem to ensure that the growing number of Australian music lovers can connect with Australian artists.”