Consumer engagement with music streaming continues to soar according to research from the Digital Media Association (DIMA), with listeners spending more time and more money on music than they did five years ago

• 94% of streamers like or love their streaming services;
• 50% of streamers listen to streaming services every day;
• Streamers are spending 27% more on recorded music, including streaming subscriptions, than 5 years ago;
• Global music streaming revenues have reached over $22BN, around 70% of total global recorded music revenues (IFPI Global Music Report 2026);
• Streaming services face legislative and regulatory challenges in several territories.

WASHINGTON, June 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Digital Media Association (DIMA), the trade association representing the leading music streaming services including Amazon, Apple Music, Feed.fm, Pandora, Qobuz, Pandora, Spotify and YouTube, revealed that 50% of consumers are listening to their streaming services every day – rising to 58% for paid subscribers.

The research, conducted in partnership with MusicWatch and released as part of DIMA's 2026 Annual Report, underscores streaming's continued role as the economic engine of the music industry and highlights the importance of maintaining streamers' user experience amid a shifting technological, economic, and regulatory landscape.

Graham Davies, President and CEO of DIMA commented: "Growing daily engagement with streaming services is powering continued music industry growth, taking music streaming revenues to over $22BN last year, which equates to around 70% of the total global recorded music revenues. And streaming consumers now spend 27% more on music than they did five years ago. For this success story to continue, we need a policy environment that protects consumers' seamless experience so that streaming services can continue to invest, innovate and open up global opportunities for artists."

Other key findings:  

Users of streaming services report high satisfaction with their experience and say streaming strengthens their connection with artists

• Nearly all streamers (94%) say they like or love their streaming service, and over a half listen to their streaming services every day, rising to 58% among paid subscribers.
• Consumers also see strong value in streaming, with 90% describing their service as good, very good or excellent value for money.
• Streaming is also deepening artist engagement, with 86% saying it improves their connection with artists and music they love.

Streamers are highly engaged and financially committed consumers who contribute to the entire music ecosystem:

• The average streamer spends approximately $434 annually on recorded music: 27% more than five years ago.
• Among paid on-demand streaming subscribers, that figure rises significantly to $614 per year: underscoring the strong link between streaming engagement and overall music spending.

Streaming is the number one source of music discovery and gives back-catalogs a new lease of life

• Streaming is ranked the number one source of music discovery – with 69% of respondents saying streaming was a main source of discovering new music.
• This was followed by social media (50%), introductions from friends and family (38%), and music played in TV or movies (38%).
• While 78% use streaming to find brand new releases, 88% of streamers use it to discover older songs – to both discover old, familiar songs and find songs from decades past that they have never heard.

Notes

Streaming Forward: For the DIMA Annual Report 2026, including further information on DIMA, MusicWatch, and the research methodology, click here.

Please find high-resolution headshots, logos and graphics from the report here: Streaming Forward DIMA Annual Report 2026.

Data from Graham Davies' quote is from the IFPI Global Music Report 2026.

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SOURCE DIMA