US recorded-music wholesale revenue reached about $5.97 billion in the first half of 2026, up 6.9% year over year, according to the RIAA’s mid-year report released September 1. Streaming still carried most of the load, and physical formats posted one of the sharper percentage gains.
Streaming brought in $4.9 billion, up 4.7%. Paid subscriptions generated $3.4 billion (up 6.4%), with the “premium” on-demand tier alone at $3.11 billion, up 7.8%. Premium subscription accounts in the US rose 5.5% to 111.1 million. Non-premium bundled plans fell 9% to $239.1 million. Free streaming, including social and ad-supported tiers, made $900 million, up 3.7%.
Price increases at Spotify, YouTube Music, and Amazon Music Unlimited helped the premium line. Physical revenue jumped 25.9%, with vinyl up 17.7% and CD sales up 58.6% — a reminder that formats outside the infinite catalog still move money.
RIAA research lead Matt Bass tied the nearly $6 billion total to a diversified market, from earbuds to World Cup playlists. For labels and distributors watching wholesale checks, H1 reads as growth with a clear split: premium subs up, bundles softer, and physical unexpectedly loud.
Image: thematic stock photo (Pexels/Unsplash), royalty-free. Figures verified from Music Business Worldwide’s report on the RIAA H1 2026 release.