Taylor Swift’s ‘The Life Of A Showgirl’ Helped Drive Music Industry To Record Sales In 2025

Music industry revenue climbed 3% in 2025 to hit a new record of $11.54 billion, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.

Mega-selling albums like Taylor Swift‘s The Life of a Showgirl and the Kpop Demon Hunters soundtrack keyed the results. Notably, a spate of special vinyl releases of Swift’s albums and various tracks and remixes helped spur another strong year for the physical format. Vinyl notched its 19th straight year of growth, cracking the $1 billion mark for the first time since 1983. With 46.8 million units sold, it more than tripled the revenue from CDs, which moved 29.5 million units.

While the resilience of physical music is an encouraging phenomenon not matched in other areas of the entertainment economy, streaming continues to be the linchpin. Total streaming revenue reached $9.5 billion, about 82% of the total.

With 106.5 million user accounts, streaming generated $6.4 billion in revenue, cementing the U.S. as the dominant global market for streaming music. The RIAA said the country now represents about one-third of global streaming revenue. Premium paid subscription revenue was the bulk of the total, at $5.9 billion, up almost 7% over 2024.

The bounce-back of the music industry a generation after peer-to-peer sites like Napster posed an existential threat and sent sales plunging has been a striking development. It has not come without disruption, however, and has entailed a dramatic overhaul of the sector’s economic model. Unlike in the pre-digital era, artists can seldom make a profit on recorded music alone, instead making their living on the road and through merchandise, licensing and other avenues.

“The last 20 years have been marked by unprecedented transformation for recorded music – from the steady rise to dominance of anytime, anywhere streaming options as listeners enjoy tunes from their favorite artists to a resurgence of vinyl as both a listening experience and collectable art. And now, our industry is advancing free-market licensing, building responsible AI partnerships that enhance discovery, deepen fan engagement and unlock new creative possibilities for how music is made and experienced,” RIAA CEO Mitch Glazier said in a statement. “Through it all, music remains a cornerstone of culture and a growing economic powerhouse for the US, contributing $212 billion to our GDP and supporting more than 2.5 million American jobs.”