We don’t yet know how the world’s largest recorded music markets performed commercially last year – but we’ve had a positive early sign in terms of streaming volume.
The UK recorded music market saw 179.6 billion audio streams of music in 2023, according to new British Phonographic Industry (BPI) data.
That was up by approximately 12.8% YoY, said the trade body today (January 3). The BPI has previously confirmed that there were 159.3 billion audio streams in the UK in 2022.
The 179.6 billion audio streams seen in 2023 were also roughly double the size of the equivalent figure from five years before (90.9 billion, in 2018).
Obviously these numbers don’t necessarily give us much indication of the UK’s YoY growth across two vital streaming metrics in 2023, namely: (i) Growth in the total number of UK music streaming subscribers; and (ii) Growth in the total revenue that streaming platforms generated for the industry.
Regardless, a 12.8% YoY uplift in audio streaming volume potentially points to positive news, particularly as it’s a larger YoY percentage rise in total annual audio streams than the UK saw in 2022 (+12.1%) and 2021 (+7.9%) – though it’s some way off the percentage YoY increase we saw in 2020 (+25.1%) and 2019 (+23.3%).
Elsewhere in the BPI’s latest numbers – analysis of the UK’s Official Charts data – UK vinyl sales rose 11.8% YoY in 2023, up to 6.1 million sales (from 5.5 million in 2022).
CD sales fell 6.9% YoY in the UK in 2023, down to 10.8 million (from 11.6 million in 2022).
The BPI calculates the UK market’s annual performance in terms of ‘Album Equivalent Sales’ – a metric by which all music consumption, whether streaming or physical/digital sales, is formulated into ‘album sales’.
(Example: Under the BPI’s calculation, premium video and audio streams are divided by 1,000 to constitute one album ‘sale’; ad-supported video and audio streams are divided by 6,000 to constitute one album ‘sale’.)
According to that formula, which roughly tracks revenue equivalence, streaming accounted for 87.7% of the UK recorded music market in 2023.
That marked a significant jump from 63.6% in 2018, said the BPI, which is behind the BRIT Certified Platinum, Gold & Silver Awards.
In 2023, BPI introduced the BRIT Billion Award, recognizing artists who have garnered more than one billion career streams in the UK alone.
“With a significant number of artists surpassing the one billion threshold, success in streaming is now measured in the tens and hundreds of millions a year, if not more, and thousands are attaining this level of success and the rewards and career progression that comes with it.”
BPI
“With a significant number of artists surpassing the one billion threshold, success in streaming is now measured in the tens and hundreds of millions a year, if not more, and thousands are attaining this level of success and the rewards and career progression that comes with it,” BPI said.
A record-breaking 2,519 tracks accumulated at least 10 million audio and video streams in the UK in 2023, compared to 1,136 in 2018.
Despite streaming’s dominance of the market, physical sales held strong at the top of the UK album charts in 2023.
About 86% of albums debuting at No.1 had more than half their sales from physical formats.
In 2023, Miley Cyrus‘s Flowers was the year’s biggest hit in the UK with 198 million streams, says the BPI.
Flowers is the first single from Cyrus’ Endless Summer Vacation album. Other chart-toppers include Dave & Central Cee‘s Sprinter and RAYE ft. 070 Shake‘s Escapism, Rema’s Calm Down, Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding’s Miracle, SZA’s Kill Bill, PinkPantheress’ Boy’s A Liar, and Taylor Swift’s Anti-Hero.
The Weeknd‘s The Highlights was the UK’s biggest album of the year (counting both sales and streams), said the BPI, followed by Taylor Swift‘s Midnights and 1989 (Taylor’s Version).
Meanwhile, in a historic milestone, women artists spent a record-breaking 31 weeks at No.1 on the Official Singles Chart, with Miley Cyrus‘s Flowers reigning for 10 weeks. Seven of the year’s top 10 singles were by women, including Dua Lipa, Ellie Goulding, Kenya Grace, and RAYE.
Thirteen of the top 20 tracks were by women, with Dua Lipa, Ella Henderson, PinkPantheress, and Venbee joining global stars like SZA, Bebe Rexha, and Olivia Rodrigo.
“Women spent more weeks at No.1 on the Official Singles Chart than in any previous year, while seven of the ten biggest tracks were by women. This should be celebrated, but without complacency, and our work in the music industry continues to ensure that this becomes the norm.”
Jo Twist OBE, BPI
Nearly half (48.5%) of the tracks reaching the Top 10 of the weekly Official Singles Chart were by women, their highest annual share this century.
“Whilst work continues towards achieving full representation for women across the music industry, 2023 has been a brilliant year for women in the Official Charts,” said Jo Twist OBE, BPI Chief Executive.
“There is a more diverse range of recording artists than ever achieving great success with the backing of their labels. Women spent more weeks at No.1 on the Official Singles Chart than in any previous year, while seven of the ten biggest tracks were by women. This should be celebrated, but without complacency, and our work in the music industry continues to ensure that this becomes the norm.”
Music Business Worldwide