UK music sales hit record high as Taylor Swift tops album sellers
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Spending on streaming subscriptions and physical sales hits £2.4bn as industry recovers from piracy and CD slump. Analysis: The UK music industry is reporting record revenues. The reality is much gloomier. Music lovers spent a record £2.4bn on streaming subscriptions and physical music last year as the UK music industry finally recovers from the digital revolution that ushered in rampant online piracy and the slow death of the CD.
Subscriptions to streaming services such as Spotify, Amazon and Apple, and the revival in the popularity of vinyl, with sales increasing for 17 consecutive years, fuelled a 7.4% rise in music revenues to £2.38bn last year, according to the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA).
The music industry has taken decades to adapt and recover from the advent of the digital era, with billions wiped off the value of the UK industry. Revenues reached above the previous all-time high of £2.2bn in 2001. “Music is back – thanks to streaming and the vinyl revival,” said Kim Bayley, the chief executive of the ERA. “For decades it was new release activity which drove most revenues. Digital services and retailers have become the drivers of the market.”.
Consumer spending on streaming subscriptions grew at 7.8% to top £2bn for the first time last year. Spending on physical formats – CDs, vinyl and other formats such as cassettes – increased by 6.2% to £330m. Vinyl album sales outpaced the market at 10.5% to £196m, while CD album revenues remained flat at £126m.
