Streaming has consumed 80% of the US music market, was just 7% in 2010

Music streaming has taken over the US music market. Organizations are now saying it accounts for 80% of the market, compared to only accounting for 7% back in 2010.

The Recording Industry Association of America or RIAA for short has released some new decade long statistics onto their official Twitter page. The RIAA says that over the course of the decade, streaming has become the staple way of accessing music in the music market, surpassing physical media by a landslide.

The above image shows that back in 2010, physical music took the lions share of the market at 52%, digital downloads took 38%, and streaming only had 7%. Now, looking at the 2019 data, streaming has basically eaten physical music, reducing it down to just 9% of the market, while streaming sits strongly at 80%. The increase in streaming is no doubt a result of many more Americans now having a smartphone and downloading apps such as Spotify or Apple Music.