PwC has published its annual report of projections and predictions for the international media industry. The Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2018-2022 valued the music, radio, and podcast sector in the U.S. at $40.7 billion in 2017. The industry is projected to see a 4% compound annual growth rate to reach $49.5 billion in 2022.
Within that sector, total U.S. recorded music revenue in 2017 reached $8.7 billion. The result marked growth of 16.5% from the year prior, and the industry’s expected CAGR through 2022 is 7.8%, which would bring it to revenue of $12.7 billion by that year. Streaming alone accounted for $4.8 billion of the 2017 revenue, rising 58.5% over 2016. PwC projected that this digital format would see a 16.7% CAGR and reach revenue of $10 billion by 2022. According to the report, streaming will be responsible for 97.3% of digital recorded music revenue by 2022.
Radio saw 2017 revenue of $22.1 billion in the U.S., accounting for nearly half of the global total. It is projected to see revenue of $23.8 billion by 2022.
In a related analysis, PwC pointed toward subscription models as delivering a larger share of revenue than advertising for media brands. Both streaming audio and OTT home video platforms are expected to see subscription revenue on a steady increase through 2022.
PwC also pointed to a few trends that it pegged as critical in the latest shifts for the entertainment and media sector. One is the near-total coverage for high-speed mobile Internet. The company expected that total global data consumption through smartphones will surpass fixed-broadband data consumption in 2020.
As a result, mobile devices have been growing as the primary source for accessing media and entertainment on a global scale. PwC expected that global mobile Internet advertising revenue will overtake its wired equivalent this year.