Kansas City Chiefs fans ask the important question.
Not surprisingly, Taylor Swift's stats command attention. Luminate, the firm that tracks entertainment industry data, released its 2023 Year-End Report on Jan. 10, and while Taylor dominated overall in the fact reporting figures, the company also illustrated several growing (and in tandem, downward) trends in numerous categories.
Amongst the graphs and pie charts, several points stand out. Taylor's music made up 1.79% of the total U.S. market. Her The Eras Tour film had a $92.8 million opening weekend and to date $261.6 million gross. And according to Luminate partner Billboard, 1989 (Taylor's Version) had the top-selling sales for both CD (800,000) and vinyl (1,014,000) for the U.S. market.
A dapper Morgan Wallen at the CMA Awards, Nashville, November 2023.
Another finding: Gen Z + Millenials = huge numbers in country music. Country music grew 23.7% in streaming -- the preferred format for both Gen Z'ers and Millennials -- and that helped not only Morgan Wallen but other artists in the genre such as Bailey Zimmerman, Zach Bryan and Luke Combs. All four of those artists were most popular via music streaming, with Millennials and Gen Z'ers representing their primary audiences -- a stark contrast to what Luminate dubs the "average country music fan," which it defines as a baby boomer who prefers AM/FM radio.
Lil Nas X is bussin' at the VMAs, September 2023.
If comedy, new age and kids' music was on a downward trend (sorry, Hi5), the unstoppable presence of R&B/Hip-Hop continues to lead all other genres in U.S. music consumption and streaming, with on-demand audio streams as the top format with 27%. Regional Mexican music (driven by the likes of Peso Pluma, among others) registered the highest growth of any genre in streaming, rising by 60% in 2023.
The report also revealed that the subset category of "Super Fans" (18% of U.S. music listeners) is often the secret sauce to an artist's success. According to Luminate, listeners in this category "are oftentimes first in their network to discover new music, they express themselves outwardly through their fandom, and they love participating in the community super fandom provides." When contrasted against the "average music listener," Super Fans spend 68% more money on music, 76% more on physical music and a whopping 126% more on artist merch — each month. Those passionate fanbases are also more likely to be on alternate, community-based platforms like Discord and Patreon.
With dozens of ways to listen, watch and purchase, the data supplied is staggering on a global scale. The entire report can be seen as an interactive, dynamic sub-site at Luminate.
