Nielsen Music Canada identifies top industry trends in 2018 Year-End Report

On Tuesday, Nielsen Music Canada released their 2018 Year-End recap and key insights. According to Nielsen, the music industry experienced significant overall growth, with total album equivalent audio consumption up 21% over 2017, driven by a 47% increase in on-demand audio song streams compared with last year.

“The music industry in Canada is thriving following yet another year of tremendous growth and engagement,” said Paul Shaver, VP of Nielsen Entertainment Canada, in the report. “Canadians are listening and engaging with more music than ever before and we’re seeing an increased diversity of taste among listeners.”

The album with the highest total consumption is Drake’s Scorpion, which features “God’s Plan,” the most consumed song of the year. As Music Canada reported in the 2018 Gold/Platinum Year-End Recap, Scorpion was also highest certified Canadian album released in 2018, while “God’s Plan” was the highest certification in 2018 for a Canadian artist at 8x Platinum.

In addition to soaring vinyl sales (up 25%) and digital consumption (up 22%), 2018 was also a significant year at home and abroad for Canadian artists, emerging domestic and international female artists, blockbuster movie soundtracks, and K-Pop.

Click here to view Nielsen’s full 2018 year-end recap.