🔥 Streaming Growth Continues — But TikTok Is Losing Ground

Major streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music reported continued subscriber growth in Q4 2025. Spotify’s user growth slowed slightly, while TikTok’s influence on streaming engagement declined as competitors expanded short-form discovery tools.

• Artists are shifting focus toward playlist placement and personalized formats
• Labels are reallocating marketing spend to Spotify and YouTube Shorts

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💿 Vinyl Sales See a Seasonal Spike Again

As holiday gifting peaked, vinyl LP sales climbed 12% year-over-year.

• Independent record stores reported strong December foot traffic
• Vinyl now represents ~25% of physical music revenue

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📀 AI Music Tools Expand — Labels Respond

AI composition and mixing tools saw broad adoption among indie artists.

Labels are now:

• Publishing best-practice AI guidelines

• Integrating AI into pre-production and demos

• Addressing copyright and attribution standards

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⭐ Artists Announce Major 2026 Tours

Touring continues to dominate revenue, with major 2026 tours announced by:

• Billie Eilish

• The Weeknd

• Coldplay + Dua Lipa

Smaller artists are leaning into regional touring and festivals.

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📈 Labels Increase Investment in Shorts Content

Short-form video remains central to discovery.

• Labels are building dedicated short-form teams
• Budgets are shifting toward Reels, Shorts, and TikTok
• 15–30 second snippets drive algorithmic lift

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💸 MCNs & Music Monetization Platforms Evolve

Platforms are expanding:

• Direct fan subscriptions and tipping

• In-app merch and concert tie-ins

• Artist analytics dashboards

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🎤 What This Means for Artists & Pros

The music business is now shaped by:

• Stabilizing but growing streaming

• Short-form video as a discovery engine

• Touring and vinyl as reliable revenue

• AI as a workflow tool requiring governance

Marketing and monetization now blend analytics with creativity — not just music quality alone.

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