USA recorded music sales up as streaming soars

The USA, the world's largest recorded music market, saw double digit revenue growth in 2016. US recorded music sales last year were up 11.4% to $7.7 billion, fuelled by the streaming boom. The American streaming market grew 68% last year, and streaming services brought in marginally more cash than downloads, CDs and vinyl combined, with subscription streaming driving the growth, as revenues more than doubled year-on-year in 2016, while income from the ad-funded on-demand platforms like YouTube and Spotify Free were up 26%.