Today in 1999, Napster released its file sharing service, letting people swap music stored on their computers. It ceased operations in 2001 after losing a wave of lawsuits and filed for bankruptcy in June 2002.
On April 3, 2008, the iTunes Store surpassed Wal-Mart as the biggest music retailer in the US. In 2010, US recording industry revenues were $6.4 from physical media (e.g., CDs), $6.7 from online (e.g., a la carte downloads), and $2.4 from mobile (e.g., ringtones, full-track downloads).
In 2022, US recording industry revenues grew 6% to a record high $15.9 billion, with streaming accounting for 84% of revenues, physical products for 11%, and digital downloads for 3%. Revenues from paid subscription services grew 8% to $10.2 billion in 2022, accounting for 77% of streaming revenues, and nearly two-thirds of total revenues.