Sub-Saharan Africa music revenues rise 15% to $120M – IFPI

Globally, recorded music revenues grew 6.4% to $31.7 billion in 2025, marking the eleventh consecutive year of growth. The expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa is attributed to increased adoption of licensed streaming services, the rising global influence of African artists, and ongoing investment from record companies.

Streaming drives growth

Revenue from paid streaming services continues to be the primary growth driver. Paid subscriptions grew by 8.8% and now account for 52.4% of global revenues, with a total of 837 million users worldwide.

“Sub-Saharan Africa’s 15.2% growth to US$120 million reflects a sustained and powerful upward trajectory for the region’s recorded music industry,” IFPI regional director for Sub-Saharan Africa Angela Ndambuki said. “It builds on several years of strong performance and highlights the combined impact of record company investment, the growing global influence of African artists, and increasing adoption of licensed streaming services across our markets.”

She added: “AI presents exciting opportunities to expand creativity and unlock new revenue streams, but it must be anchored in strong copyright frameworks that protect artists and ensure fair remuneration. At the same time, addressing challenges such as streaming fraud will be critical to safeguarding the value of music and ensuring that this growth translates into lasting benefits for creators across the region.”

Global industry trends

The report highlights several key trends shaping the global music industry:

• AI innovation: Record companies are engaging in developing AI licensing models to support revenue for artists while complementing human creativity.
• Streaming fraud: Artificially inflated streams threaten revenues. IFPI calls for coordinated industry action to prevent, detect, and address fraud.

IFPI CEO Victoria Oakley said: “Great music from incredible artists, aided by record company partnerships and investment, is driving global growth – with more people than ever paying to engage with it on streaming platforms. Streaming fraud is theft, plain and simple. Organisations with the scale and data to act must do so decisively.”

Revenue breakdown by format and region

Globally, streaming dominated recorded music income, accounting for 69.6% of revenues, while paid subscriptions represented 52.4%. Physical formats returned to growth, up 8.0%, driven by vinyl’s 13.7% increase, marking its 19th consecutive year of expansion. Performance rights revenues reached US$2.9 billion, up 0.3% from 2024.

Regional growth highlights include:

• Latin America: +17.1%, fastest-growing region; streaming accounted for 88.1% of revenues.
• Asia: +10.9%, driven by growth in Japan (+8.9%) and China (+20.1%).
• MENA: +15.2%, dominated by streaming (97.5% of revenues).
• USA & Canada: +3.5%, with the USA increasing by 3.3% and Canada by 5.6%.
• Europe: +5.6%, led by the UK (+4.8%), Germany (+1.7%), and France (+3.7%).
• Australasia: +1.5%, with New Zealand up 3.0% and Australia 1.2%.

The IFPI report draws on data from record companies worldwide and provides the most comprehensive assessment of the global recorded music market. It underscores the continuing growth of the industry while highlighting emerging challenges such as streaming fraud and the integration of AI technologies.

For further details, the IFPI Global Music Report 2026 is available online.