The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the influential trade and advocacy group, has released its mid-year report. It’s a state-of-the-industry snapshot that also includes a ten-year view of revenue growth.
Today’s release puts the 2026 mid-year status in a larger 10-year perspective, illustrated in the chart below.
While the RIAA highlights streaming growth (see above), the quarterly metrics are also attributed to “growth across every major category.” Physical sales and sync revenues are particularly noted.
There is also the Paid Subscriptions bucket, which reportedly generated $3.4 billion in the first half of 2026.
Below, the RIAA’s key metric takeaways:
- US recorded music revenue reached $6B in the first half of 2026, up 6.9% and outpacing US inflation
- Every major revenue category grew, reflecting a healthy and increasingly diversified marketplace
- Streaming generated $4.9B, up 4.7%, and remained the largest source of recorded music revenue
- Paid subscriptions reached $3.4B, up 6.4%, continuing to power streaming growth
- Free streaming reached $900M, up 3.7%
- Physical revenues jumped 25.9%, powered by 17.7% vinyl growth and a 58.6% increase in CDs
- Sync licensing grew 18.2% to $232M, emphasizing music’s continued value across film, television, advertising and digital media
As always with the RIAA periodic reports he source report is freely available; get it HERE.