Music streaming has taken over. In 2018, three leading labels known as the “Big Three” pulled in $6.93 billion in wholesale revenue from music streaming alone.
This figure revealed by MBW research totals earnings by Universal, Sony and Warner’s labels over the last calendar year. The breakdown shakes out to $19 million per day or $800,000 per hour from streaming services.
Compared that to 2017, when these same companies pulled in $5.3 billion — a $1.6 billion jump.
Universal had the most stellar year, as its annual streaming revenues grew by 39% (in US dollars). The label also achieved over $3 billion in streaming for the first time ever, thanks to a $864 million jump in revenue for 2018. In other words, $2.4 million per day.
Overall, Universal brought in the most revenue, followed by Sony Music, and then by Warner.
Universal’s biggest selling artists for the year included Drake, Post Malone, The Beatles and XXXTentacion.
Source: MBW