In advance of the publication of its annual yearbook All About the Music 2020, the BPI has revealed the songs that the nation streamed in 2019.
Whilst this analysis, compiled by BPI based on original data from the Official Charts Company, tells us which freshly-released tracks were most popular in 2019, this report also gives an insight into the older ‘catalogue’ songs that resonated with the UK.
Included within the list is The Beatles, Queen, Fleetwood Mac, Bill Withers, while more recent acts include Stormzy, Arctic Monkeys, Mabel and AJ Tracey.
Despite there being a broad range, contemporary music reached the highest number of streams last year, as Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber took the top spot at 138.8m with I Don't Care, and Billie Eilish followed closely behind at 137.1m for Bad Guy.
- Songs from 2019 account for just over a fifth of all the music played on audio streaming services last year, with Lewis Capaldi’s Someone You Loved, the most streamed song of the year with 229m plays in the UK, but…
- Tracks released before 2018 still account for over 60 percent of all streams in 2019
- Both the 1970s & 1980s increased their share of catalogue streams
- Elton John & Queen account for six of the 10 most-streamed tracks from the 1970s between them
- Christmas songs are prevalent in the 1980s rundown – Wham’s Last Christmas is top
- Motown & Soul features strongly in the most-streamed tracks of the 1960s
What the UK Streamed in 2019 and BPI Yearbook All About The Music author, BPI’s Rob Crutchley, said: ‘The reasons certain songs resonate with us are many and varied – they can lift our mood, reflect how we’re feeling at a certain time, or evoke a particular happy memory. Older songs can enjoy a renaissance at any time, maybe by being used in a film or TV show, being shared online via social media or by being discovered in a playlist. A much-loved artist going on tour can spike interest and there is a wealth of catalogue classics that are always in great demand at Christmas time – we’re streaming the hits of today in huge numbers but we’re also enjoying delving into our rich musical heritage.’
Rob Crutchley's BPI yearbook All About The Music 2020 will be released later this month.
