Streaming raises music revenue in the EU by nearly €300m

Physical media sales the only other category to record an increase last year, according to a report from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) of which the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) is a member

Fontaines D.C. at Electric Picnic last month. Managing director of Warner Music Ireland, Priscilla Kotey, said: 'There’s been a cultural shift. Irish people have become way prouder of Irish music than ever before. If you look at Electric Picnic eight years ago, it was predominantly international acts. Now the line-up is at least 50% Irish artists.' 

Revenue generated by recorded music across the EU increased by 5.1% during 2025 to €6bn driven by an increase in streaming subscribers and subscription costs while other revenue sources declined, a new report shows.

According to the report, the EU recorded music revenues grew by €293m year-on-year and accounted for 21.3% of global music revenue. It found that nine of the top 20 recorded music markets are located in the EU.

The report was produced by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) of which the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) is a member.

Growth in music revenue last year was largely concentrated in streaming. Revenue from streaming increased by €220m during the year with physical media sales the only other category to record an increase up €58m.

In Ireland, streaming revenues grew by 7.3%. The report said that across Europe approximately 27% of people are paid music streaming subscribers compared to 47% in the UK and 54% in the US.

The report said subscription revenue was bolstered by subscriber growth “alongside subscription increases implemented by platforms across Europe”.

Revenue for downloads, synchronisation, and performance rights were all down by €8m, €3m, and €23m respectively. The report said the decline in performance rights revenues was “driven by exceptional private copying levy income in 2024 from Sweden and Germany”.

The report showed that across Europe 53.5% of tracks appearing in a country's year-end Top 10 chart were performed by domestic artists.

In the report, managing director of Warner Music Ireland, Priscilla Kotey, said the market share for Irish artists “has tripled in the last couple of years” in Ireland and “being able to puncture the Top 100 and Top 50 on Spotify has been a massive turning point.” 

“There’s been a cultural shift. Irish people have become way prouder of Irish music than ever before. If you look at Electric Picnic eight years ago, it was predominantly international acts. Now the line-up is at least 50% Irish artists.” 

Chairman of IRMA Willie Kavanagh, said Ireland’s growth in streaming revenue is well above the EU average, and “there has been a notable increase in Irish music fans gravitating towards homegrown acts”.

“In a time of rapid technological change, it is important that EU institutions support creative industries through full implementation of existing protections and robust enforcement.” 

The IFPI is also calling for EU policymakers to focus on effective implementation and enforcement of existing law, support responsible AI innovation and ensure musicians can continue to exercise and benefit from their rights as creators.

On the issue of AI in music, the IFPI is calling for the EU to ensure "meaningful transparency” from AI companies.

“Input and output transparency are essential enablers of a well-functioning licensing market. They help ensure that creators can be fairly remunerated for the use of their work, while giving consumers confidence about the provenance and nature of the content they are consuming.

“The obligation created by the EU AI Act on AI model developers to be transparent about the third-party content they have used must be workable and enforceable by right holders. This requires clear action by the EU AI Office and should be complemented by strengthening the procedures already provided in the intellectual property rights [IPR] enforcement to address the lack of transparency among AI developers."