The shift away from album sales and digital songs toward streaming music did have an interesting impact on the music listening population, namely, 50 million more people are paying for their music, whether through a streaming subscription or actual sales. Last year, 132 million Americans paid for a music subscription, well higher than the 14 million Americans who conceded that they pirated music in 2024. Overall, per-capita spending on music is up 32 percent over the past decade after adjusting for inflation.
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