iTunes sales help bolster Billboard chart numbers

While music streaming may be king, both Apple and the recording industry at large aren’t quite ready to write off the power of the iTunes sale.

People are still buying music on iTunes. Sure, it might not be a lot of people, but it’s an audience nonetheless.

And, as it turns out, 80% of people who buy music through iTunes don’t have an active Apple Music subscription. And while you might assume that these sales signal a preference for buying older music, it turns out that’s not the case, either.

Half of iTunes customers began buying music in the last decade, roughly since Apple Music launched. And 50% of the top 10,000 best-selling albums each quarter are new releases.

This suggests that people buying music aren’t necessarily opposed to streaming, but instead would rather choose to support their favorite artists directly. Bloomberg notes that superfans, such as those of Taylor Swift, will often buy numerous versions of an album, the same way any other collector would.

And those sales are crucial; a single purchase of an artist’s album counts as one sale, which directly influences the Billboard charts. Conversely, it takes 1,000 premium audio or video streams — or 2,500 ad-supported audio or video streams — to equal a single album sale.

One iTunes album purchase is, effectively, a thousand times more influential than a single Apple Music stream. And Apple knows this, which is why it often partners with artists and labels to release exclusive versions of albums, including Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Shopwgirl” and Doja Cat’s “Vie (Paris Edition).”

Of course, Bloomberg is quick to point out that the actual act of digitally buying music is in serious decline. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) released its mid-2025 revenue report, showing that revenue from downloaded singles in the US over the first six months of 2025 dropped .3% compared to the first six months of 2024. And album downloads dropped a full 14% in the same period.

In terms of hard numbers, it means that album sales are barely register when it comes to revenue.

“In total, digital download revenue, which also includes ringtones and other digital assets, totaled $139 million in the US during the first half of 2025 versus $4.7 billion from streaming,” Bloomberg writes.

But that could change in the future, too. Fans are becoming increasingly aware of artists’ struggles, such as Taylor Swift’s ongoing battle for her master recordings.

As a result, it wouldn’t be unheard of for fans to pivot to directly supporting artists by purchasing both digital and physical releases. Plus, in a time when everyone seems to be growing increasingly weary at the prospect of paying for yet another subscription, it might become more appealing to actually own the music you listen to.