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Mixed Growth Picture Continues in Europe—Italy and Sweden

Mixed Growth Picture Continues in Europe—Italy and Sweden

Photo Credit: Antoine Schibler

Italy’s recorded music market grew substantially in 2025, doubling the European average growth rate and surpassing global trends by a wide margin.

Last year was a mixed bag for Europe’s recorded music market, with Italy showing impressive growth year-over-year and doubling the European average. Meanwhile, like much of Europe, Sweden remained “stable.” Its subscription-based audio streaming alone made up 85% of its total recorded music revenue.

Italy’s recorded music growth increased by 10.7% year-over-year in 2025 to reach an impressive $579 million—a growth rate that doubled the European average and significantly outpaced global trends. This growth was primarily fueled by a 14.1% jump in paid streaming (now 69% of all streaming revenue). Streaming drives the Italian market, with over two-thirds of its total revenue derived from it, and premium subscriptions driving that up more than 14%.

It’s the eighth consecutive year of growth for the Italian recorded music market, which has more than doubled in value compared to 2019. Besides streaming, growth was spurred by a surprising 21.9% surge in physical sales, driven by “superfans” purchasing vinyl and CDs.

Further, Italy’s music exports increased by 13.9% in 2025, with a whopping 180% growth in the last six years alone. New releases account for 16% of the streaming market, and 82% of streams are generated by songs released since 2010. 57.3% comes from music released in the last five years.

It’s also the first time that the value of recorded music in Italy exceeded the national movie box office.

Sweden paints a very different picture, with slower growth mirroring the significant slowdown in streaming growth as a whole. Streaming growth slowed to a modest 2% year-over-year—the crux accounting for these slow-growth stories European countries, including France (3.7%), Germany (2.3%), and the UK (4.9%).

Sweden’s recorded music market grew by 3% year-over-year in 2025, reaching $234 million, which IFPI Sverige called “stable.” Digital revenues account for nearly the entire country’s recorded music market, with subscription-based audio streaming alone making up 85% of total revenue.