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Success for artists is being driven by marketing power and superfandom in a more democratized music industry.

Why it matters: Instead of relying on revenue from album sales or streams alone, artists increasingly depend on building dedicated audiences that follow them across platforms, buy their merch and attend their shows.

By the numbers: U.S. digital music sales have collapsed, with single downloads peaking at an inflation-adjusted $2.65 billion in 2012 and falling to just $113 million last year, according to RIAA data. Album sales dropped from $1.93 billion to $113 million.

About 88% of streaming tracks are played 1,000 times or less, per Luminate, and therefore do not generate royalties on platforms like Spotify.

People consume more older catalogs than new music, with 43% of U.S. on-demand streams coming from tracks released in the past five years, per Luminate.

Despite streaming expanding access, revenue remains concentrated. The major labels — Sony, Universal and Warner — commanded 65% of global recorded music revenue in 2025, according to MIDiA Research. 

A stacked bar chart shows U.S. music revenues from downloads from 2005 to 2025. Total revenues peaked at more than $4 billion in 2012, primarily driven by album sales. Revenues have declined significantly since 2015, particularly in album sales.

U.S. music revenues from downloads

The big picture: Barriers to entry in music have disappeared, making it easier than ever to release songs but increasingly difficult to stand out.

"You're competing against an insane flood of limitless access to music. I think what artists do is try to really creatively, visually, storytell," said JP Evangelista, executive vice president of content, programming and marketing at Vevo.

"It takes not just talent and hard work. It takes a lot of time on social media, constantly promoting yourself and keeping your fans up to date," UCLA professor Timothy Taylor said, adding he's heard from an ENT doctor about treating more vocal problems with singers.

What they're saying: Major artists have raised concerns about how streaming economics have disproportionately benefited only the top tier.

David Byrne wrote an op-ed on the issue in 2013, as did Taylor Swift in 2014.

More recently, James Blake criticized the effects of streaming and TikTok on artists' incomes in a series of viral posts on X and later announced his partnership with direct artist-to-fan platform Vault.

Between the lines: While TikTok is the music discovery platform du jour, many of the disruptions it's catalyzing are familiar, said Paula Clare Harper, musicologist and assistant professor at the University of Chicago.

"TikTok very quickly wound up integrating with or replicating extant features of the music industry: catalogs of library/production music, licensing agreements with major labels, its own distribution product, etc.," Harper added.

"True democratization of musical livelihoods requires increased access to musical education and reliable mechanisms of compensation for artists," she said, noting universal basic income as one potential model.

What to watch: Brand partnerships may be a solution for artists seeking new ways to fund and grow their careers, said Bradfield Biggers of Halloran Farkas + Kittila.

"Brands are starting to look at hyper niches," Biggers said. "Artists can leverage that to expand their pocketbook while they're trying to make those first 1,000 fans that can let them get on the road."

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Streaming payouts are still dominated by top artists

Superfan economy drives modern music careers

Success increasingly depends on building fans who support artists everywhere.

Illustration of a megaphone emitting musical notes 

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images

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