Old songs now represent 70 percent of the U.S. music market. Even worse: The new-music market is actually shrinking. By Ted Gioia Vintage vinyl stabbing streaming play button. Getty; The Atlantic JANUARY 23, 2022 SHARE About the author: Ted Gioia writes the music and popular-culture newsletter The Honest Broker on Substack. He is also the author of 11 books, including, most recently, Music: A Subversive History. Old songs now represent 70 percent of the U.S. music market, according to the latest numbers from MRC Data, a music-analytics firm. Those who make a living from new music—especially that endangered species known as the working musician—should look at these figures with fear and trembling. But the news gets worse: The new-music market is actually shrinking. All the growth in the market is coming from old songs. U.S Catalog vs. Current Consumption Source: MRC Data The 200 most popular new tracks now regularly account for less than 5 percent of total streams. That rate was twi