Image Credit: MIDiA

MIDiA’s just published Q2 2021 global market share report shows how the most popular music streaming services stack up against each other.

MIDiA’s annual report shows the growth in market share of music streaming services compared to their last. Overall, music streaming services continue to grow, with Q2 2021 reporting 523.9 million total subscribers across platforms. This figure is up by 109.5 million, around 26.4%, from a year earlier, and represents faster growth than the prior year.

Unsurprisingly, Spotify still hold strong at number one with 31%, however this is down from 33% in Q2 2020 and 34% in Q2 2019. That being said, Spotify have no risk of losing their lead in the near future, adding more subscribers in the 12 months leading up to Q2 2021 than any other single DSP.

Apple Music come in a distant second, with 15% of global market share on the premium-only music streaming service. Amazon Music once again out-performed Spotify in terms of growth, with a 25% growth over Spotify’s 20%. As with last year, YouTube Music are the standout success among Western DSPs, seeing more than 50% growth in the 12 months leading up to Q2 2021. This growth has lead YouTube Music to be the only Western DSP to increase global market share. Previously Google Play Music, YouTube Music has resonated particularly among Gen Z and younger Millennials.

The biggest subscriber growth from emerging markets comes from Chinese music streaming services Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) and NetEase Cloud Music, between them adding 35.7 million subscribers in the 12 months leading up to Q2 2021. Together the platforms accounted for 18% of global market shares, despite only being available in China. Russian music streaming service Yandex was another big gainer, doubling their subscriber base and representing 2% of global market share. Combined, TME, NetEase and Yandex account for 20% of the subscriber market share and drive 37% of all subscriber growth in the 12 months leading up to Q2 2021.

MIDiA reports that non-DSP streaming revenue is set to have contributed between a quarter and a third of streaming revenue increase in 2021.

With overall growth across platforms, there’s never been a better time to get your music heard around the world. RouteNote help artists upload their own music to stores, streaming services and social media platforms for free, such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Tencent Music Entertainment, NetEase Cloud Music and many more.