(Hypebot) — The Digital Media Association (DiMA) has released a study that looks at the economic impact of music streaming on the U.S. economy, including the creation of 92,000 jobs.
The DMiA serves as a trade organization for the biggest music streamers: Amazon, Apple Music, Google/YouTube, Pandora, and Spotify.
Key Takeaways
- For every $1 in economic value generated by streaming, other sectors of the U.S. economy gain an additional $1.65.
- Music streaming in the U.S. contributed $14.32 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in 2021. This is similar in size to the annual GDP contributions of Santa Cruz County, California ($15.0 billion) and Alexandria, Virginia ($13.1 billion).
- Job growth powered by streaming isn’t limited to music or technology occupations and it has been growing at an annual rate of 20%.
- For every job directly created in music streaming, other sectors of the U.S. economy gain 9 additional jobs.
- Digital music streaming supported over 92,000 total jobs in the U.S. economy in 2021.
- 8.82% of revenue in 2020 from streaming services went to research and development. This was more than twice the investment level of the average industry.
“This study offers new insights on the success of digital streaming, for not only the music industry but the U.S. economy and workers across many different occupations,” said DiMA CEO Garrett Levin. “While streaming is frequently recognized for its contributions to recorded music revenues and its innovations in delivering music to fans, it is less frequently recognized as a catalyst for broader economic growth and over 92,000 U.S. jobs.”
Click here for the full study.
Bruce Houghton is the Founder and Editor of Hypebot and MusicThinkTank, a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, President of the Skyline Artists Agency, and a professor for the Berklee College Of Music.
