RESEARCH
Global Paid Music Subscriptions Hit a 2025 Record -- Trackers Split Between 827 and 922 Million
Four independent trackers of the global paid music-streaming market -- MIDiA Research, IFPI, Futuresource Consulting, and Goldman Sachs -- all agree 2025 was a record year for subscriber growth, but their published year-end totals span a wide range: from Goldman Sachs' 827 million forecast to MIDiA's 921.6 million count, a spread of roughly 11%. Every source agrees growth held in double digits and the industry is closing in on the 1-billion-subscriber mark, but no two firms count the same underlying number of subscribers. The disagreement traces to real methodological differences -- how bundled telco plans, multi-user family plans, and free-trial conversions get counted -- not to a dispute over direction.
Findings
- MIDiA Research counts 921.6 million global paid subscribers at the end of 2025, up 10.1% YoY, with Spotify holding 31.4% share (289.4M) ahead of Tencent Music (13.8%), Apple Music (12.6%), YouTube Music (12.4%), and Amazon Music (8.5%).
- IFPI's Global Music Report 2026 puts the global total lower, at 837 million paid subscription accounts, up from 752 million in 2024 -- an 85-million net addition versus MIDiA's steeper curve.
- Futuresource Consulting lands in between at 865 million subscriptions (+71.5 million YoY), tied to its finding that global recorded-music consumer spend hit $47.1 billion in 2025, with streaming taking an 86% share.
- Goldman Sachs' mid-2025 'Music in the Air' forecast projected 827 million subscribers for full-year 2025 (+10% YoY) -- the lowest of the four, and notably a forecast made before the year closed rather than an audited year-end count.
Delta Engine result
↔ Divergence Detected — Δ 0.3 (threshold 0.05)
Evidence quality
avg 25 · min 25 · max 25 · spread 0