Music industry doubles revenues by 2030

According to the study, global revenues are expected to climb to $142 billion in as little as ten years - almost double the 2019 result. Growth will be driven primarily by the streaming market, which is expected to reach around 1.2 billion customers by 2030.

Strong rebound effect expected

"Music industry revenues are likely to slump by as much as 25 percent globally in fiscal 2020," CNBC quotes from the U.S. investment bank's analysis. "It's expected to hit the live music sector particularly hard," where many rescheduled dates and concert cancellations are expected due to the ongoing Corona threat. "There could be a 75 percent drop in sales here this year," explain the Goldman Sachs experts.

However, the poorer short-term development would be offset overall by an extremely positive longer-term outlook. "We expect a strong rebound effect driven by long-lasting growth in streaming offers, a general increase in demand for music content and live events, as well as new opportunities in licensing and conducive regulatory conditions," the assessment says.

Major labels as main beneficiaries

According to Goldman Sachs, global music industry revenues will rise to $142 billion by the end of the decade, an increase of 84 percent on the corresponding figure from 2019, which settled at $77 billion. By then, the online market for streaming services is expected to reach 1.2 billion users - that would be almost four times as many paying customers as in the previous year (341 million users).

The US analysts identify major labels such as Universal Music Group and Sony Music in particular as the main beneficiaries of this clear long-term upward trend. "The platforms of these companies are benefiting most from the streaming boom and its huge volumes of customer data. However, competition is likely to intensify here as well," the report says. (pte)