Skip to main content

News

February 9, 2021 | Press Statements

New Report: How Music Powers the American Economy

Washington, D.C. (February 9, 2021) A new report released today by economists Robert Stoner and Jéssica Dutra of Economists, Inc. provides the latest look at the music industry’s contribution to the U.S. economy. The comprehensive report evaluates pre-pandemic data and documents music’s ability to drive job creation and economic growth, especially as the country’s pandemic recovery efforts gets underway.

According to the report, the music industry contributes $170 billion to US GDP annually and supports 2.5 million jobs nationwide in core music activities like recording, streaming, and live performance, as well as adjacent fields like travel, retail, and marketing. As an export, music generates $9.1 billion in foreign sales annually. And, for every dollar created by music activities, an additional fifty cents is created in adjacent business or fields, illustrating that music consistently performs above its economic weight with a 1.5 times revenue multiplier.

“This data provides an important pre-COVID benchmark of the music economy that will guide us as we determine what a return to ‘normal’ must include,” said Josh Friedlander, SVP of Research and Economics at RIAA. “It also charts a course for state and federal policymakers to leverage music’s ability to produce strong economic growth and high-paying domestic jobs.”

The U.S. Music Industries: 2020 Jobs & Benefits Executive Summary and Report can be found here.

###

Contact:
K. Kim Atterbury
katterbury@riaa.com