Recorded-music sales by format (line graph)
Academic IELTS Task 1 model answer describing a line graph of global recorded-music sales by format, 2012–2022 — with the chart and a band-8 answer.
Band 6.5
Prompt: The line graph below shows global recorded-music sales by format, in US$ billions, between 2012 and 2022. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
The line graph illustrates how much money was made globally from three recorded-music formats — streaming, physical, and downloads — between 2012 and 2022, measured in US$ billions.
Overall, streaming grew strongly and became the largest format by the end, while both physical sales and downloads declined over the period.
In 2012, physical (CD/vinyl) was the biggest format at $9.4 billion, and downloads stood at $4.0 billion, while streaming was only $1.6 billion. After this, streaming rose every year, reaching $5.4 billion in 2016 and then climbing sharply to $17.5 billion by 2022. Physical sales, on the other hand, fell to $4.2 billion in 2020 but recovered slightly to $4.6 billion in 2022. Downloads decreased continuously, dropping to $2.1 billion in 2018 and just $0.7 billion at the end. So streaming finished the period much higher than the other two formats, which both ended below $5 billion.
Band 8.0
Prompt: The line graph below shows global recorded-music sales by format, in US$ billions, between 2012 and 2022. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
The line graph illustrates how global revenue from three recorded-music formats — streaming, physical media, and downloads — changed between 2012 and 2022, measured in billions of US dollars.
Overall, streaming was transformed from the smallest revenue source into by far the largest, while both physical sales and downloads declined steadily over the period. By 2022 the market was clearly dominated by streaming.
In 2012, physical formats such as CDs and vinyl generated the most income, at US$9.4 billion, followed by downloads at US$4 billion. Streaming, at just US$1.6 billion, was the least significant format. Over the next decade, however, streaming revenue rose sharply and almost without interruption, reaching US$17.5 billion in 2022 — more than a tenfold increase.
The other two formats moved in the opposite direction. Physical sales fell consistently to a low of US$4.2 billion in 2020 before edging up slightly to US$4.6 billion, whereas downloads dropped continuously throughout, ending at less than US$1 billion. As a result, downloads finished the period as the smallest category, having been overtaken by streaming and remaining below physical sales throughout.