Digital Music Streams Up 24% in 2013 Ahead of iTunes Radio Launch

Ahead of the launch of iTunes Radio this fall, Nielsen has published its findings on U.S. music sales for the first half of 2013. Amongst other things, the survey showed total streams of both audio and video music increased 24% to 51 billion streams versus the same time period last year.

itunes radio

With digital album sales rising only 6.3% and digital single-track sales actually down 2.3%, streaming music is clearly a major growth area for the music industry and with Apple launching iTunes Radio on millions of iOS devices this fall, it could give a further boost to the music streaming.

iTunes Radio will include Pandora-style genre- and artist-based channels, extensive iTunes Store integration, and both ad-supported and ad-free subscription options. It is expected to launch to the public this fall alongside iOS 7.

TechCrunch has the full report, including lists of the most streamed songs and purchased albums.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Dark Blue and Orange

iPhone 17 Release Date, Pre-Orders, and What to Expect

Thursday August 28, 2025 4:08 am PDT by
An iPhone 17 announcement is a dead cert for September 2025 – Apple has already sent out invites for an "Awe dropping" event on Tuesday, September 9 at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California. The timing follows Apple's trend of introducing new iPhone models annually in the fall. At the event, Apple is expected to unveil its new-generation iPhone 17, an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17...
xiaomi apple ad india

Apple and Samsung Push Back Against Xiaomi's Bold India Ads

Friday August 29, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple and Samsung have reportedly issued cease-and-desist notices to Xiaomi in India for an ad campaign that directly compares the rivals' devices to Xiaomi's products. The two companies have threatened the Chinese vendor with legal action, calling the ads "disparaging." Ads have appeared in local print media and on social media that take pot shots at the competitors' premium offerings. One...
crossbody strap

iPhone 17's 'Crossbody Strap' Accessory to Feature Magnetic Design

Thursday August 28, 2025 7:49 am PDT by
Apple's cases for the iPhone 17 lineup will be accompanied by a new Crossbody Strap accessory with a unique magnetic design, according to the leaker known as "Majin Bu." Apple's Crossbody Strap reportedly features an unusual magnetic design; it likely has a "flexible metal core" that makes it magnetic along its entire length. At the ends, "rings polarized oppositely to the strap close the...
Awe Dropping Apple Event Feature

Five Things to Expect From Apple's 'Awe Dropping' September 9 Event

Tuesday August 26, 2025 4:17 pm PDT by
Apple today announced its "Awe Dropping" iPhone-centric event, which is set to take place on Tuesday, September 9 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. There are a long list of products that are coming, but we thought we'd pull out five feature highlights to look forward to. That Super Thin iPhone - Apple's September 9 event will see the unveiling of the first redesigned iPhone we've had in years, ...

Top Rated Comments

YeahBuddy Avatar
158 months ago
This is good news for Apple. Since iOS 7 i've only used Pandora a couple of times, and that's because I was on my Mac.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
eroslws Avatar
158 months ago
Nothing will ever beat Google's music service. 7.99 for unlimited streaming, no ads, skip to whatever song you want, or just play any song/album/artist you want to hear. It's amazing!
Sure, if you exclusively like rap. I can't find half of the music, not including foreign music, I listen to on Play Music.

Spotify blew the market out of the water, it's well worth the $10/month. Apple has the best chance of creating a better product, but iTunes Radio is far from that.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CapnJackGig Avatar
158 months ago
I buy albums. Listening to Singles just sucks. No heart and souls of artists there.

Which is why Spotify and Xbox Music are going to destroy Apple's weak offering.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
oneMadRssn Avatar
158 months ago
The whole thing smacks of a way to return more money to the infrastructure owners and less to the content creators.

I'm seeing new gains in streaming volume on the artists I manage, with ridiculously low dollar returns. With iTunes sales we could actually make a reasonable amount - not going to happen if the "norm" become streaming.

Should be the last step to completely commoditizing music.

Would the poor musicians prefer we get our music through piracy instead?

The way I see it, this streaming model is the first thing to come along that actually has a good shot of competing with piracy while getting the artists paid, even if they aren't paid as much as they were in the $15 CD days.

Sales of recorded music has been a loss leader for quite some time now, and I don't think this trend is going to reverse anytime soon. People seem to be willing to pay quite a lot of a live performance or for branded merchandise; but they will only pay that high price for artists they already listen to a lot.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iAmUndefined Avatar
158 months ago
Haha

I buy albums. Listening to Singles just sucks. No heart and souls of artists there.

I bet if Apple released a spotify-like service you would say "Who would buy albums? This service is great!".
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
slu Avatar
158 months ago
With Google Play Music All Access, I have no interest in this service at all. Google Play Music is really a great product. It is iTunes Match, Spotify and Pandora all in one service. And the UI is much better than Spotify.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)