The 2023 Year-End Music Report by Luminate revealed that out of the 184 million tracks accessible on audio streaming platforms, 45.6 million, or 24.8 percent, received eh no plays throughout the year. According to the report, nearly a quarter of the entire music catalogue offered by streaming services remained untouched by listeners in 2023.
The report also states that 158.6 million tracks each received 1,000 or fewer plays on audio streaming services in 2023. That number amounts to 86.2 percent of the 184 million music tracks that Luminate measured on audio streaming services at the close of last year via ISRCs (International Standard Recording Codes).
Luminate has previously reported that approximately 38 million (37.9 million) tracks received zero plays on streaming platforms in 2022 meaning the figure in 2023 rose by 7.7 million or 20 percent Year-on-Year(YoY).
However, the total number of tracks on streaming platforms also grew last year, by 16.5 percent YoY. There were around 2.17 million fresh tracks uploaded to streaming services per month last year according to the report.
According to the Luminate report, the data indicates that in 2023, an average of 103,500 new ISRCs (tracks) were submitted to streaming services daily. This marks a 10.8 percent increase from the previous year, 2022, which saw an average daily delivery of 93,400 tracks.
As the influx of new music on streaming platforms continues to surge, concerns have emerged regarding the potential overshadowing of high-quality artists amidst the vast volume of content. Recent reports indicate that approximately 120,000 new tracks are uploaded daily to streaming services, amplifying worries about visibility for deserving musicians.
This trend has prompted leading streaming platform Spotify to implement a significant policy shift. Beginning in Q1 2024, Spotify will no longer pay royalties to tracks that have garnered fewer than 1,000 plays in the preceding 12 months, a move seemingly aligned with Universal Music Group’s ‘artist-centric’ strategy.
This adjustment reflects the platform’s response to the evolving dynamics of the music industry, seeking to address challenges related to content saturation and support artists with a more substantial listener base.
