independent record labels, performance rights organizations, independent music venues, music museums, and other organizations.
The rapid growth of the music industry is also having a positive impact on the labor market. From 2017 to 2020, the number of jobs supported by the music industry increased by 1.9% annually, from 2.17 million to 2.54 million, but compared to the U.S. overall, according to a review of the report by two of the Bureau’s economists. Employment growth was flat. During this period, direct employment, or music industry employment, increased from 1.13 million to 1.32 million, while indirect and induced employment improved from 1.04 million to 1.22 million. Indirect employment includes jobs that result from goods and services used by direct employment. Induced employment takes into account jobs created by additional direct and indirect employee expenditures.
According to IFPI, U.S. recorded music wholesale revenue rose from $5.78 billion to $8.02 billion from 2017 to 2020, driven by streaming services and a boom in the recording market. This growth coincided with the rise of the music business. In the last four years, the number of music industry businesses and establishments, from brick-and-mortar to digital companies, has grown from 227,000 to 252,000.
The report effectively highlights the risks of injecting significant amounts of money into the U.S. music industry if it fails to avoid the threats that artificial intelligence (AI) poses to the business. A thorough examination of music’s economic impact is important for an industry that frequently seeks legislative intervention in response to new technologies and copyright threats. If music business revenues and jobs are hurt by AI, that loss will create a ripple effect that affects other companies and workers.
“We are facing a truly unique once-in-a-generation tipping point as Congress and state leaders seek smart guardrails and innovative policies for the AI era.” wrote RIAA President and CEO Mitch Glaser. The research behind the 50 musical states. Glazier went on to welcome the “new opportunities, sounds and experiences enabled by responsible AI innovation,” but warned of the risks of “irresponsible and unethical AI.” The unauthorized and uncompensated use of copyrighted music to train AI models “threatens to tear a gaping hole in the fabric of America’s music community,” and the economic impact of music is “in America. “Global tech giants at the expense of the artists, writers, and music companies that shape society in the 50 states,” he added.
With music contributing $51.4 billion to the economy, California has the largest impact of any of the 50 states in terms of income, employment, and value added. Texas, home to about 128,000 songwriters (according to ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR), comes in second with $26.6 billion, and New York is a close third with $24.9 billion. Florida, home to the Latin music business, ranks fourth with $9.3 billion. Tennessee, led by country music in Nashville and blues in Memphis, ranks fifth with $7.5 billion. And Pennsylvania, where music supports about 115,000 jobs, ranks sixth with $6.3 billion.
The report’s authors used data from sources including the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and private sector datasets. Music’s Economic Impact estimates music’s direct revenues and employment and then uses what is called the RIMS II multiplier, a statistical tool developed by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, to calculate the downstream effects of direct revenues on the local economy. Calculated by estimating.
