The State of the Music Industry 2025

Like other entertainment fields in 2025, the music industry finds itself in uncharted territory.

Business is booming, but the days of riding post-pandemic demand to record revenues are ending. Streaming usership in major markets is approaching critical mass, live music prices are exceeding audience budgets, music publishing revenue streams are endangered by the rise of AI, and musicians’ ability to live off music is more tenuous than ever.

The last time industry leaders got too comfortable, they were caught off guard by the MP3 and Napster, and things cratered. To this day, the value of music hasn’t recovered.

This year presents an inflection point, and to keep the business growing the industry needs to regain that lost value and protect music from declining further.

The data-filled Luminate Intelligence special report Key Changes in the Music Industry lays out the solutions being implemented across all facets of the business to ensure the margins continue moving upward: more price tiers, more “super fan” experiences, more venues, more AI protections and more acquisitions.

Some of these initiatives will mostly benefit the companies at the top of the ladder, while others will have a profound impact — good and bad — on the smaller, independent corners of the industry.

Either way, the music landscape is on the cusp of change. This report delivers a comprehensive overview of where it stands and provides key info to those determining where it’s going.