The graph shows information about the proportion of international music sales through three different approaches: streams, downloads, and CDs purchased from 2011 to 2018.
Overall, there is a noticeable change in music consumption, with streaming gaining exposure rapidly while CDs saw a decline in sales.
In 2011, CDs were the dominant method for selling music, accounting for 55% of global sales, while downloads only took up around 35% of the total sales. Furthermore, streaming struggled with only 5% of the total sales. However, by 2013, downloads saw an upward trend, rising from 35% in 2011 to more than 40%, surpassing CDs, which saw a sharp decline in 3 years, to only 33% in the same period while streams gradually increased to 15%.
By 2017, streaming saw significant growth in sales, reaching a record of more than 30%, exceeding downloads, which saw a decline to just 29% after peaking in 2014 in terms of sales. And by 2018, streaming accounted for the highest percentage of global music sales, reaching just over 40% while downloading reached just under 30% by the end of the period, and CDs dropped to almost 10% by 2018.