The international music trade hit 5.1 trillion streams in 2025. It’s a brand new single-year file, up 9.6% from 2024, which held the earlier file.
That’s in line with a 2025 Year-End Report from Luminate, an trade knowledge and analytics firm that gives perception into altering behaviors throughout music listenership.
In the U.S., on-demand audio streams hit 1.4 trillion, a 4.6% enhance from final 12 months.
But consideration is on older music. Less than half all U.S. on-demand audio streams — 43% — have been from tracks launched within the final 5 years (2021 – 2025).
One exception? Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl” and Morgan Wallen’s “I’m the Problem,” each of which surpassed 5 million album equal models in a single 12 months. That’s a mixture of gross sales and streaming mixed.
Luminate’s 2025 Mid-Year Report revealed that although streams of latest music — music launched within the final 18 months — have been barely down from the identical time final 12 months within the U.S., new Christian/gospel music defied the development, stated Jaime Marconette, Luminate’s vp of music insights and trade relations, led by acts like Forrest Frank, Brandon Lake and Elevation Worship.
In the year-end report, it’s clear that Christian/gospel music has continued to develop stateside: up 18.5% in on-demand audio quantity change in comparison with 2024.
Other genres that noticed an uptick? Rock grew 6.4% and Latin grew 5.2%.
“Rock is the largest growth genre this year, meaning it grew its share of the streaming pie the most,” stated Marconette in a press release. “Though rock streaming in general leans catalog (tracks older than 18 months), the genre posted the second highest total of new current streams this year.”
For Latin music’s progress, Bad Bunny is accountable. His on-demand audio streams totaled 5.3 billion — 4.38% of all Latin on-demand audio streams.
“The Latin genre continues to be one of the highest growth-genres in the U.S.,” provides Marconette. “Bad Bunny was a key driver of the growth this year with his new album “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” producing 2.97 billion U.S. on-demand audio streams in 2025.”
The introduction of high-profile synthetic intelligence artists grew to become a number one music story in 2025. Those embrace Xania Monet and the rock band The Velvet Sundown.
Monet went on to turn into the primary AI act to debut on a Billboard radio chart, reaching No. 3 on the group’s Hot Gospel Songs and No. 20 on the Hot R&B Songs.
There have been fairly a number of AI nation artists as effectively, together with Aventhis, Cain Walker and Breaking Rust. The latter had a track known as “Walk My Walk” hit No. 1 on Billboard’s nation digital track gross sales chart in November. The vocal phrasing, melodic form and stylistic DNA got here from the Grammy-nominated nation artist Blanco Brown, an artist who has labored with Britney Spears, Childish Gambino and Rihanna.
These artists function examples of generative AI persevering with to upend the music trade, giving anybody the power to immediately create seemingly new songs by typing prompts right into a chat window, usually utilizing fashions educated on actual artists’ voices and types with out their information.
And in line with Luminate, they’re having actual success. Monet earned 125 million international on-demand audio streams final 12 months. Breaking Rust introduced in roughly 72.8 million streams adopted by Walker with 48.1 million, Enlly Blue with 34.8 and Juno Skye with 15.5 million.
The prime songs, globally, as decided by on-demand audio streams are the next:
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Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, “Die With a Smile” — 2.858 billion
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HUNTR/X (Ejae, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami) from “Kpop Demon Hunters,” “Golden” — 2.430 billion
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Alex Warren, “Ordinary” — 2.403 billion
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Rosé and Bruno Mars’ “APT.” — 2.236 billion
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Billie Eilish, “Birds of a Feather” — 2.133 billion
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Bad Bunny, “DtMF” — 1.701 billion
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Kendrick Lamar and SZA, “Luther” — 1.672 billion
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Benson Boone, “Beautiful Things” —1.630 billion
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sombr, “Back to Friends” — 1.587 billion
- Gracie Abrams, “That’s So True” — 1.544 billion
Seven of the highest 10 tracks have been launched in 2024. The exceptions are “Golden,” “Ordinary” and “DtMF.”
Just like final 12 months and the 12 months earlier than it, with regards to total music streaming within the U.S., R&B and hip-hop nonetheless lead, as soon as once more accounting for multiple in each 4 streams stateside.
In 2025, rap and R&B accounted for 349.9 billion on-demand audio streams, up from 341.63 billion final 12 months.
It is adopted by rock with 260.5 billion (up from 234.22 billion final 12 months) and pop with 167.2 billion (up from 165.49 billion).
Rounding out the highest 5 is nation with 122.5 billion (up from 117.58 billion) and Latin with 120.9 billion (up from 113.02 billion.)
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