Independent music market sharesGlobal : Fragmentation AND consolidationMIDiA is excited to announce our latest report “State of the independent music economy: Fragmentation AND consolidation”. It represents the most extensive piece of research we have ever done. Through a combination of our annual Independent Label and Distributor Survey and an exhaustive (and exhausting) programme of desk research, MIDiA collected company level revenue data totalling $10.6 billion of recorded music revenue. When combined with major label financials and data collected from artist distribution platforms, this means that MIDiA’s total recorded music market dataset has 93% of all global revenues accounted for, at company level. We are confident there has never been such comprehensive research done of the sector, until now!

The full report is immediately available to MIDiA clients and has also been sent to all labels and distributors that took part in our survey. Here are some highlights:

Non-major labels are firmly streaming-first, with it accounting for the majority of their income and Spotify being more than half of it. However, they also feel streaming has its challenges – 87% of non-major labels feel it is becoming more difficult to get artists to cut through and 78% find it difficult to retain fan interest. Little wonder then that non-major labels spent $1.5 billion on marketing in 2023, with smaller labels (