Welcome to the Nielsen Music Year-End Report, which examines the trends shaping the music industry with definitive consumption figures and charts.
The surge in streaming continued throughout 2017, topping all forms of music consumption. The industry had another record-breaking year, with 12.5% growth in music consumption year over year.
For the first time ever, R&B/Hip-Hop became the most dominant genre in the U.S., with nine of the Top 10 most-consumed songs coming from that genre, including breakthrough hits by new artists Migos, Post Malone and Cardi B.
Latin music history was made when Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee’s Spanish-language smash “Despacito” and its crossover remix featuring Justin Bieber topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Ed Sheeran’s “Shape Of You” spent the most-ever weeks in the Hot 100’s Top 10. And Sam Hunt’s “Body Like A Back Road” helped drive Country music consumption growth for the year while crossing over into the Pop charts.
Vinyl records experienced sales growth for the 12th consecutive year, and over-the-air radio remained the top source of new music discovery in 2017, while live music flourished with record attendance and ticket sales.
What a transformative year at Nielsen Music and for the entire music industry. Technological advancements and new partnerships have allowed us to provide robust, comprehensive data in more accessible, customizable and useful ways in 2017. Deeper insights are now available through powerful Music Connect advancements such as daily data, international data, expanded retailer information, artist discography and mobile data. Over the past year, we received more than 5,000 requests for Nielsen Music research and insight reports.
We are excited for what’s ahead, and we will continue to evolve and innovate in 2018. We hope you enjoy the report!
CONTENTS
2017 YEAR-END INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS 2017 YEAR-END TOP STORIES
2017 MUSIC GENRE HIGHLIGHTS 2017 LIVE MUSIC INSIGHTS