U.S. recorded music saw record revenue of $11.54 billion in 2025, an increase of 3.1% year-over-year, according to the latest figures released by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Streaming remained the dominant format in the U.S. recorded music market with total revenue of $9.75 billion, up 3% from $9.46 billion in 2024. Of that revenue total, $6.38 billion came from paid subscriptions, a 5.8% increase over 2024’s $6.03 billion. Paid subscription revenue made up 55.3% of total recorded music revenue in the U.S. last year, deriving from a total of 106.5 million paid accounts — up from 105 million paid accounts the year prior.

The numbers reported Monday (March 16) are in wholesale figures, a metric the RIAA began using for its twice-annual reports at midyear last year. Prior to that, the organization reported overall revenue in terms of both retail and wholesale, but only reported retail revenue when breaking down numbers for the different revenue segments. The organization has now revived its U.S. Music Revenue Database — which it removed from its website last year amid the switch from retail to wholesale — with revenue breakdowns in wholesale terms going back to 1973, allowing for direct year-over-year comparisons.

In wholesale revenue, growth in the U.S. recorded music market picked up slightly over 2024, when year-over-year growth slowed to just 1.9%. That compared with growth of 6.7% in 2023 and 4.7% in 2022. (Check out the full breakdown here.)

While paid subscription revenue increased overall, other areas in the digital segment saw declines. This included free (ad-supported) streaming, which saw a year-over-year revenue dip of 0.6% to $1.79 billion. Digital downloads declined 5.9% year-over-year, with total revenue (albums and single downloads) of $221.8 million.

On the physical front, vinyl sales grew for the 19th consecutive year and surpassed the $1 billion wholesale revenue mark for the first time since 1983, when vinyl still made up nearly half of overall recorded music revenue in the U.S., according to the RIAA’s historical figures. Year-over-year, vinyl revenue grew 9.3% to $1.04 billion from sales of 46.8 million units, up from $954.4 million and 43.4 million units in 2024. Meanwhile, CD sales revenue continued to decline, dipping 11.6% year-over-year to $312.4 million from sales of 29.5 million units. Overall physical revenue increased 5% year-over-year to $1.38 billion — up from $1.32 billion in 2024 — thanks to vinyl’s continued growth.

Lastly, synch revenue fell to $407.1 million from last year’s $412.6 million, a slight 1.3% dip year-over-year.

“Fans are consuming music from the artists they love in more ways than ever, and that passion is reflected in today’s report,” said Matt Bass, the RIAA’s vp of research and gold & platinum operations, in a statement. “2025 reveals a strong and stable music economy resulting from committed label investment and identification of new spaces to expand artists’ creativity. From the ease of streaming to new vinyl to licensing responsible AI tools and services, labels are diversifying fan engagement. U.S. recorded music has demonstrated sustained growth globally, reaching $6.4 billion alone in paid subscriptions and tallying 50% of global vinyl revenue, leading the way for fans to listen and connect with their favorite music whenever, wherever and however they want.”

Mitch Glazier, RIAA chairman & CEO, added, “The last 20 years have been marked by unprecedented transformation for recorded music — from the steady rise to dominance of anytime, anywhere streaming options as listeners enjoy tunes from their favorite artists to a resurgence of vinyl as both a listening experience and collectable art. And now, our industry is advancing free-market licensing, building responsible AI partnerships that enhance discovery, deepen fan engagement and unlock new creative possibilities for how music is made and experienced. Through it all, music remains a cornerstone of culture and a growing economic powerhouse for the U.S., contributing $212 billion to our GDP and supporting more than 2.5 million American jobs.”

RIAA 2025 Year-End Report Highlights:

U.S. recorded music wholesale revenue hit $11.54 billion, a record high.

Overall streaming revenue hit $9.47 billion, up 3.1% year-over-year.

Paid subscription revenue grew 5.8% to $6.38 billion, accounting for 55.3% of total recorded music revenue.

Vinyl revenue climbed for the 19th straight year with total revenue of $1.04 billion, up 9.3% year-over-year.

Europe’s C2C (Country to Country Festival) shared details of its 2027 edition and locations on Monday morning (March 16).

The annual event will take place concurrently across three cities in the U.K. next year hitting London, Glasgow, and, for the first time, Manchester. Country stars will perform at London’s O2 Arena, the OVO Hydro in Glasgow and Manchester’s AO Arena across the weekend of March 12-14.

The announcement was made as the 2026 edition wrapped following sets from Zach Top, Keith Urban, Brooks & Dunn, Scotty McCreery, Russell Dickerson, Drake Milligan and more. 2026’s edition took place in London, Glasgow and Belfast, Northern Ireland. 

Tickets for the 2027 festival will go on general sale this Friday (March 20) from the festival’s official website. A lineup will be announced in the coming months.

In 2025, the BPI reported that demand for country music in the U.K. was soaring, reaching the highest share of albums consumption since 1999.

First held in 2013 at the O2 Arena, the annual country festival spotlights some of the genre’s biggest names and emerging stars. Over the years, Carrie Underwood, Little Big Town, Zac Brown Band, Vince Gill, Reba McEntire, Emmylou Harris, Luke Combs and more have all graced the stage.

From 2014 onwards, the festival expanded to take place in multiple cities in Europe at the same time. Since its inaugural edition, it has also visited Dublin, Oslo, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Berlin and Rotterdam. In 2019, C2C was also held in Sydney and Brisbane in Australia and featured such headliners as Keith Urban, Lady A and Chris Stapleton, as well as Brett Eldredge, Chase Rice, Dustin Lynch and more.

London’s 20,000-capacity O2 Arena has been the only permanent home for the festival since it was introduced to the U.K.

James Hetfield pulled off a proposal for the ages last week. The Metallica frontman popped the question to girlfriend Adriana Gillett on Friday (March 13) during a scuba diving excursion. Hetfield, 62, shared a snap from the special moment on Metallica’s Instagram, which featured an image of the singer/guitarist underwater in a mask and scuba gear holding up a sign reading: “Adriana Gillett Will You Marry Me?”

Floating next to him in the clear blue water was fashion designer Gillett, 45, holding up the ring box and making a thumbs-up with her left hand. The caption? “She said yes!”

Gillett also shared the good news on her Instagram, reposting the same pic and writing, “The BEST birthday trip surprise 🎉Swimming with whale sharks on Friday the 13th 👀 with the most unique, special, and romantic proposal a Pisces could ever imagine 💍 In a sea full of fish, we caught each other 🩵 Thank you God for putting us together 🐋🦈.”

Hetfield filed for divorce from his wife of 25 years, costume designer Francesca Tomasi, in 2022, with whom he shared two daughters, Cali, 27 and Marcella, 24, and a son, Castor, 25. The Metallica frontman and London native Gillett reportedly began dating in 2023.

The happy couple will have a few months to enjoy newlywed status before Metallica cranks up their three-year-old M72 world tour again on May 9 with a show at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece, followed by a May 13 show in Bucharest, Romania and a May 19 stop in Chrozow, Poland. After the summer run of European and U.K. dates, Metallica will kick off their 24-show run at Las Vegas’ Sphere on Oct. 1.

It’s a supersized week when it comes to new country songs with an embarrassment of riches from superstars Luke Combs and Lainey Wilson, newer artists like Colton Bowlin and long-absent fan favorites such as Jo Dee Messina.

Contemporary Christian artist Brandon Lake continues to be the duet partner of choice for country artists who want to share their faith and his duet with Bailey Zimmerman is another heartfelt entry in his crossover canon.

We already wrote about Carly Pearce and Riley Green’s sultry new duet, as well as Kacey Musgraves’ wry new track, so we’re leaving them off here, but they are songs well worth seeking out.  

Check out Billboard’s roundup of some of the best country, bluegrass and/or Americana songs of the week below.

 Luke Combs, “I Ain’t No Cowboy”

With two songs– “Days Like These” and “Sleepless In A Hotel Room”–  from his new album still nestled in the top 10 of the Country Airplay chart, superstar Combs gives one more tease from The Way I Am before it drops on Friday (March 20). It’s a broken-hearted ballad co-written by Combs, Jake Mears and real cowboy Cody Johnson. Lots of horse and cowboy imagery sets the scene for a doomed romance that just may have succeeded if Combs “could’ve been more like John Wayne” and “roped her heart back in.”  Instead, he’s watching as “she saddled up and she kicked up a cloud of dust,” leaving him with nothing but regrets.

Lainey Wilson, “I Can’t Sit Still”

The reigning CMA entertainer of the year returns with a rollicking stomp of a song where the frenetic music perfectly matches the driving lyrics. “I’m an outside dog on an inside leash” she declares as the frustration of anyone trying to hold her down grows. “I ain’t caught my breath since I took my first/ so I guess I’ll rest when I’m in the dirt,” she sings.  The escalating “running and gunning” bridge adds to the heart-racing pace. Wilson wrote the song with longtime collaborators, Trannie Anderson and Dallas Wilson, as well as Aslan Freeman.

The lyrics seem especially appropriate given that Wilson’s first major movie, Reminders of Him, opened Friday and the documentary Lainey Wilson: Keepin’ Country Cool premieres at SXSW this week (and debuts on Netflix April 22).  While the song may be autobiographical, anyone who has felt the internal pressure to keep pushing will relate.

Bailey Zimmerman and Brandon Lake, “Just Believe”

Hot off collaborations with Jelly Roll (“Hard Fought Hallelujah”) and Cody Johnson (“When A Cowboy Prays”), top contemporary Christian artist Lake joins Zimmerman for this inspirational mid-tempo track about never giving up. The two trade verses with Lake’s soulful, powerful vocals leading the way here, as Zimmerman convincingly promises: “There’s a good thing coming.” An uplifting ode to never giving up and letting your faith guide you through troubled times, “Just Believe” is destined to become a motivational rallying cry. It’s a stand-alone track not on Zimmerman’s current album, Different Night Same Rodeo.

Tucker Wetmore, “Sunburn”

Just as the weather is turning warmer and spring break starts, Wetmore delivers the heat with this laid-back tune about a love that’s not meant to last but sears hot while it does. “You hit me like a heat wave/ we stayed up all night all day/ waves crashin’ outside like a thunder/ your body on mine like a sunburn,” he sings with casual charm. This one, written by Ryan Hurd, Jaxson Free and Daniel Ross, is going to be the soundtrack for beach flings all summer long.  As tongue-twisting “Brunette” still climbs the Country Airplay chart, Wetmore is aiming for radio domination with this fun one-two punch.

Jo Dee Messina, “Some Bridges”

It’s been a decade since ‘90s hitmaker Jo Dee Messina has put out an album (though plenty folks discovered her through Cole Swindell’s massive 2022 hit, “She Had Me At Heads Carolina,” which interpolated Messina’s 1996 smash, “Heads Carolina, Tails California”), but now she’s back and as potent as ever. She’s grown wise during her absence, sharing in this smoldering, ‘90s-redolent track that some bridges are worth burning, despite the adage. Messina, who co-wrote the song with Kat Higgins and James T. Slater, sounds like she never left, and is full-throated as ever. After a few one-off songs over recent years, “Some Bridges” is the opening salvo of Bridges, which will arrive this summer.

Colton Bowlin, “Time For Sale”

There’s a lived-in feeling to Bowlin’s songs with truths unspooling gently through the lyrics backed by his genial guitar picking. “I’m no better than any other man/ I was born a sinner and I’ll die that way, I guess/ But I tried on my own to do some things right/ To me, I’ve done too much bad to get by,” the Kentucky native confesses matter of factly in the latest track from his new album, Grandpa’s Mill, which came out Friday (March 13). Bowlin worked with David Ferguson, who’s produced such artists as Tyler Childers and Sturgill Simpson, and he shares a stripped-down, no-fuss point of view with those Americana stars.  

Stephen Wilson Jr., “Gary”

After Wilson debuted “Gary” on November’s 2025 CMA Awards, the tribute to a blue-collar worker who leads a life of quiet desperation, developed a cult-like following. It peaked at No. 38 on the Country Airplay chart, but became a fan favorite and a cornerstone of his live show. It seems only fitting that actor Gary Sinese, beloved as Lt. Dan from Forrest Gump, would star in the video that dropped Sunday (March 15). The video turns him in a bit of a Robin Hood with a storyline not in the song, but ends on the same sad conclusion hinted at in the lyrics… parakeet and all.

Hilary Duff has always had an audience — but that doesn’t make being seen any easier.

In an exclusive clip from Mythical Kitchen’s Last Meals, the singer gets candid about the complicated experience of releasing deeply personal music after more than a decade away. In the clip, which premieres ahead of the Tuesday (March 17) episode of the Josh Scherer-hosted YouTube series, Duff reflects on the double-edged nature of fame.

“If I hadn’t been in the public eye for so long, people wouldn’t pick apart the lyrics and know exactly what I was talking about; they might be able to connect to them in a different way,” she says. “But since I’ve been a public person since I was 10 years old, everybody knows my family and everybody assumes what we’ve been through.”

Despite that vulnerability, Duff says making the music felt necessary — and freeing. “Being able to be truthful and make music and just say what’s bouncing around in [my head] is a different experience than the girl who was making music and hoping it was on the radio,” she says in the clip.

The conversation centers on Luck… or Something, Duff’s sixth studio album and her first in more than a decade, which arrived Feb. 20 via Sugarmouse Inc./Atlantic Records. Co-written and produced entirely with her husband Matthew Koma and collaborator Brian Phillips, the 11-track set explores themes of anxiety, abandonment and the weight of a life lived publicly. The Lucky Me Tour, a world tour in support of the album, kicks off June 21 in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Mythical Kitchen’s Last Meals is a food-focused interview series from the creators behind Good Mythical Morning, in which host Josh Scherer prepares guests’ ultimate final meals as they discuss life and death. Previous guests have included Tom Hanks, Post Malone, Meghan Trainor and Jason Kelce.

luck… or something debuted in the top 10 across four Billboard album charts, bowing at No. 2 on Top Album Sales and No. 3 on the Billboard 200. Metamorphosis, Duff’s 2003 breakthrough, topped the Billboard 200, while 2005’s Most Wanted also debuted at No. 1 on the chart.

Watch Duff speaking about making her new album Luck… or Something, on Mythical Kitchen’s Last Meals below.