Music downloads remain a measurable part of recorded music, but their role has narrowed as streaming has expanded. In 2024, downloads and other digital formats represented 2.8% of global recorded-music revenue, while Japan’s download formats represented 7.7% of digital-music value.
Contents
- Global recorded-music download revenue
- US permanent download sales
- US ringtones and other digital downloads
- UK download-market revenue
- Japan digital-download sales by format
- Japan downloads versus streaming
Global recorded-music download revenue
The global market data shows downloads continuing to contract as a share of recorded-music income. The IFPI Global Music Report 2025 reports that downloads and other digital formats accounted for 2.8% of global recorded-music revenue in 2024. The same category declined 7.7% during 2024.
That decline was part of a long-running pattern: IFPI reported that global downloads and other digital revenue had fallen for 12 consecutive years by 2024. The category therefore describes a shrinking revenue stream rather than the main way listeners now pay for recorded music.
The IFPI Global Music Report 2026 — State of the Industry puts downloads and other digital formats at 2.5% of global recorded-music revenue in 2025. Because the two reports measure different years, the 2.8% and 2.5% figures should be read as annual shares, not as a single-period estimate.
US permanent download sales
RIAA’s 2024 Year-End Revenue Statistics separates permanent download singles from permanent download albums and reports both shipments and retail value. Both formats declined in the United States from 2023 to 2024.
| US permanent download format | 2023 shipments | 2024 shipments | 2023 retail value | 2024 retail value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Download singles | 150.7 million | 122.1 million | $190.8 million | $162.4 million |
| Download albums | 20.5 million | 16.8 million | $204.9 million | $166.7 million |
US download-single shipments were 122.1 million units in 2024, down 19.0% from 2023. Their retail value was $162.4 million, down 14.9% from $190.8 million in 2023. The comparison indicates contraction in both the number of tracks sold and the money generated by those sales.
Download albums totaled 16.8 million shipments in 2024, a 17.7% decline from 20.5 million in 2023. Album retail value fell 18.6%, from $204.9 million in 2023 to $166.7 million in 2024.
The two formats were different in scale. Singles produced more shipments than albums in both years, while the reported album retail value was higher than the single retail value in each year. That distinction matters when reading “music downloads” as a broad term: unit volume and retail value do not rank the formats in the same way.
US ringtones and other digital downloads
The RIAA report also tracks ringtone and ringback products separately from permanent download singles and albums. Ringtone and ringback shipments fell from 4.1 million units in 2023 to 2.2 million in 2024, a 45.4% decline. Retail value dropped from $10.5 million to $5.6 million, down 47.3%.
Other-digital shipments were 0.5 million units in 2024, down 34.7% from 0.8 million in 2023. Their retail value moved in the opposite direction: $35.1 million in 2024, up 23.1% from $28.1 million in 2023.
| US other digital categories | 2023 | 2024 | Reported change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ringtone and ringback shipments | 4.1 million | 2.2 million | -45.4% |
| Ringtone and ringback retail value | $10.5 million | $5.6 million | -47.3% |
| Other-digital shipments | 0.8 million | 0.5 million | -34.7% |
| Other-digital retail value | $28.1 million | $35.1 million | +23.1% |
The “other-digital” result is a reminder not to assume that a fall in reported units automatically means every value measure falls at the same rate. RIAA gives the category’s shipments and retail value, but the supplied figures do not identify the products inside that category or explain the value increase.
UK download-market revenue
The BPI report on the UK recorded music market in 2024 records £24.3 million in digital-download revenue for 2024, down 6.6% year over year. The BPI 2025 market report records £22.9 million in 2025, down 5.9% year over year.
Earlier format detail is available in BPI’s 2022 recorded-music market report. UK online track-download revenue was £13 million in 2022, down 15.1% year over year. Online-album-download revenue was £14 million, down 20.8%, while online music-video-download revenue was £0.2 million, down 5.8%.
The same 2022 report put total online-download revenue at £28 million, down 17.5%. It also reported £27.6 million from downloaded tracks and albums after a 17.5% decline, and 3.7 million album-download units, down 18.9% year over year.
These UK figures use different reporting years and category descriptions. The 2024 and 2025 figures are annual digital-download revenue totals, while the 2022 figures provide format-level detail and an album-download unit measure. They should not be combined into a single continuous series without consulting each report’s definitions.
Japan digital-download sales by format
Japan’s RIAJ Year Book 2025 reports 38.474 million digital-download units and 9,521 million yen in digital-download net income in 2024. Its format breakdown shows that single tracks dominated download units.
| Japan download format, 2024 | Units | Net income |
|---|---|---|
| Single-track downloads | 35.239 million | 5,768 million yen |
| Album downloads | 3.081 million | 3,698 million yen |
| Music-video downloads | 154 thousand | 55 million yen |
| Total digital downloads | 38.474 million | 9,521 million yen |
RIAJ reports that total digital-download units in 2024 were 95% of the prior year’s level, while total digital-download value was 93% of the prior year’s level. Single-track download units were also 95% of the prior year’s level, and album-download units were 94% of the prior year’s level.
The unit mix and the value mix are not identical. Single-track downloads accounted for most reported units, at 35.239 million, while album downloads generated 3,698 million yen in net income from 3.081 million units. Music-video downloads were 154 thousand units and 55 million yen. These are RIAJ’s reported units and net-income measures for Japan in 2024.
Japan downloads versus streaming
Japan’s 2024 digital-music figures put downloads in the context of streaming. RIAJ reports 123,301 million yen in total digital-music value in 2024, equal to 106% of the prior year’s level. Streaming formats represented 91.8% of that value, while download formats represented 7.7%.
Total streaming revenue was 113,229 million yen in 2024, equal to 107% of the prior year’s level. Subscription-audio streaming generated 92,602 million yen, or 109% of the prior year’s level. Subscription-music-video streaming generated 5,263 million yen, equal to 98% of the prior year’s level.
Ad-supported audio streaming revenue was 8,199 million yen, equal to 91% of the prior year’s level. Ad-supported music-video streaming revenue was 7,165 million yen, equal to 116% of the prior year’s level.
| Japan digital-music measure | 2024 result | Compared with prior year |
|---|---|---|
| Total digital-music value | 123,301 million yen | 106% |
| Total streaming revenue | 113,229 million yen | 107% |
| Subscription-audio streaming | 92,602 million yen | 109% |
| Subscription-music-video streaming | 5,263 million yen | 98% |
| Ad-supported audio streaming | 8,199 million yen | 91% |
| Ad-supported music-video streaming | 7,165 million yen | 116% |
RIAJ’s long-term series also shows how Japan’s digital formats changed over time. Total digital-music units were 267.901 million in 2005 and 441.457 million in 2010. They were 178.113 million in 2015 and 90.811 million in 2020. Total digital-download units specifically were 48.945 million in 2022, 40.476 million in 2023, and 38.474 million in 2024.
The historical unit series should be interpreted with care because the supplied figures distinguish total digital-music units from total digital-download units. The 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020 observations are total digital-music units; the 2022–2024 observations are total digital-download units. They are useful markers of the format transition, but they are not interchangeable measurements.