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The value and volume difference
The globalization of music is a trend that’s both as old as the streaming era, but more underdeveloped than some realize. In many regions of the world, the number of songs streamed may be quite high, but the value that those streams generate is quite low.
The chart from Will Page’s global value of music copyright report makes that point:
North America and Europe account for less than half of all streams, but they still account for 80% of the value. It reminds me of a similar distinction from Spotify’s Q3’24 earnings report, where North America and Europe account for 65% of premium subscribers but 45% of monthly active users.
In our episode, Will said that his goal was to move the industry to a “trade-weighted exchange rate index” and go deeper than just streaming volume. That would make it more clear for the industry that not all streams are created equal.
Some may view the focus on “value” as a Western-centric, Anglo-Saxon perspective. On the surface, it may appear to be in contrast with the streaming success stories from Latin America, Africa, and Asia. But both things can be true. It’s important to follow how the money actually flows. We can state the reality without disregarding the progress of any particular region.
I made the pitch to Will to create a Big Mac Index for streaming. It would get us away from the reporting on “pay per stream,” since that’s not how payouts work on most DSPs. The industry would benefit from something that offers an easily digestible way to understand the difference in value and volume.
You should listen to our full episode here.
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