Italy's music runs: market up 9.7% driven by streaming (and vinyl)
The Italian discography exceeds 208 million euros in the first semester. Mazza (Fimi): 'It would be useful to raise the tax credit ceiling from 5 to 8-10 million'. Discographers' letter to RAI on reimbursements for Sanremo
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After a record-breaking 2024 that consolidated Italy's position as the third most important market in the European Union, after Germany and France, the Italian record market continues to run and surprise in the first part of 2025.
That returned by Fimi data - the Italian music industry federation, which represents the majors in Italy - is a snapshot of a first half of the year in which the Italian record market recorded a turnover of more than EUR 208 million, with a growth of 9.7% compared to the same period in 2024.
So, musical Italy accelerates. And for a digital market worth a total of EUR 168.4 million (+9.7%), streaming remains the driving force: +9.9% to EUR 166.4 million. The premium component, i.e. paid subscriptions, grew by 12.7% to EUR 113 million. Streaming video (28.4 million) and advertising-supported streaming (24.6 million) are only slightly apart. On the other hand, downloads are now a residual: -5.1%, just 1.9 million.
Yet the real surprise comes from the physical sector, up 13% to 33.3 million. Vinyl, back in the limelight on the shelves and in the hands of collectors and others, saw turnover rise by +17% to 21.9 million. CDs also did well, up 4.6% to 11 million. These are signs of a counter-trend compared to a global panorama dominated by the dematerialisation of music. Less positive, however, was the trend in synchronisations - the use of tracks in films, series and commercials - down 4.5% to 6.5 million. Net of this figure, growth in the Italian record market would have been +10.2 per cent.
"The figures are certainly positive in a European dynamic where the main markets have shown modest or flat growth," notes Fimi president Enzo Mazza. Numbers are growing, but there is also a trend of music consumption increasingly moving towards local repertoire. In the first six months of the year, 90 per cent of the Top Ten albums and singles were occupied by Italian titles. Olly, winner of Sanremo, topped both for albums - with 'Tutta vita', followed by 'Santana Money Gang' by Sfera Ebbasta & Shiva - and in singles with 'Balorda nostalgia' ahead of Giorgia with 'La cura per me' and Achille Lauro with 'Incoscienti giovani'.
