Headlines: Streaming Sets New Records

Report Shows Music Streaming Set New Record in 2020, With 17% U.S. Increase (Variety)

Music streaming declined 5.7% during the first two months of lockdown, a precipitous drop-off that set off major alarms at the time. Yet the uptick as things turned around in succeeding months was far more dramatic, leading to the 17% annual increase.

Nearly a Third Of All Streams In The U.S. Last Year Were Hip-Hop/R&B Artists (MBW)

In 2020, says MRC Data (formerly Nielsen Music), ‘R&B/hip-hop’ claimed a 28.2% share of total album-equivalent consumption. That was up on both 2019 (27.4%) and 2018 (25.6%).

Virtual concerts: A new video format (MIDiA)

From June to November 2020, the share of live-streamed concert listings on Bandsintown grew from 1.9% to 40.7%, while the total ticketed revenue in December was up 292% from June.