The UK music industry enjoyed a historic surge in 2017, with consumption of music across all formats rising by its fastest rate this millennium.
Digital streaming through services such as Spotify, Apple Music and Deezer was up 51.5 percent to 68.1 billion streams and now accounts for over half of UK music consumption, according to the figures released today by record labels’ association the BPI.
The streaming figures represent a massive 1,740 percent increase since 2012, with December seeing a landmark 1.5 billion audio streams in a single week.
Ed Sheeran was the year’s most streamed artist with Shape of You, while Little Mix, Calvin Harris, Coldplay and Stormzy also made the top 10.
Meanwhile, music on physical formats was led by the vinyl revival, with over four million LPs purchased in 2017 – marking a decade of consecutive growth to levels not seen since 1991.
The top five purchased albums on vinyl came from Ed Sheeran, Liam Gallagher, Fleetwood Mac, the Guardians Of The Galaxy soundtrack and Amy Winehouse.
The increase in music consumption reflected a strong performance from British acts such as Ed Sheeran, Rag’n’Bone Man and Sam Smith, who were responsible for eight of the top 10 best-selling artist albums in 2017.
The most streamed, downloaded and physically purchased album was Ed Sheeran's Divide, while his single Shape of You was also the most consumed single of the year.
Geoff Taylor, chief executive at BPI and BRIT Awards praised British artists for driving the demand for music in the UK but warned of the challenges the industry faces.
'Whilst the rapid growth of streaming and resilient demand for physical formats gives us confidence for the future, it is important to remember that the music industry still has a long way to go to recover fully.
'Structural challenges must be overcome if long-term growth is to be sustained. First we must continue to fight the ‘value gap’, so that all digital platforms pay fairly for their use of music.
Second, government must ensure our musicians are able to tour freely even after we leave the EU.
'Finally, we should make the UK the best place to invest in new content by forging an online environment that is safe for consumers and where illegal sites cannot flourish. If we do this, the future for British music, which is already one of our leading exports, will be very bright,' he said.
Digital streaming through services such as Spotify, Apple Music and Deezer was up 51.5 percent to 68.1 billion streams and now accounts for over half of UK music consumption, according to the figures released today by record labels’ association the BPI.
The streaming figures represent a massive 1,740 percent increase since 2012, with December seeing a landmark 1.5 billion audio streams in a single week.
Ed Sheeran was the year’s most streamed artist with Shape of You, while Little Mix, Calvin Harris, Coldplay and Stormzy also made the top 10.
Meanwhile, music on physical formats was led by the vinyl revival, with over four million LPs purchased in 2017 – marking a decade of consecutive growth to levels not seen since 1991.
The top five purchased albums on vinyl came from Ed Sheeran, Liam Gallagher, Fleetwood Mac, the Guardians Of The Galaxy soundtrack and Amy Winehouse.
The increase in music consumption reflected a strong performance from British acts such as Ed Sheeran, Rag’n’Bone Man and Sam Smith, who were responsible for eight of the top 10 best-selling artist albums in 2017.
The most streamed, downloaded and physically purchased album was Ed Sheeran's Divide, while his single Shape of You was also the most consumed single of the year.
Geoff Taylor, chief executive at BPI and BRIT Awards praised British artists for driving the demand for music in the UK but warned of the challenges the industry faces.
'Whilst the rapid growth of streaming and resilient demand for physical formats gives us confidence for the future, it is important to remember that the music industry still has a long way to go to recover fully.
'Structural challenges must be overcome if long-term growth is to be sustained. First we must continue to fight the ‘value gap’, so that all digital platforms pay fairly for their use of music.
Second, government must ensure our musicians are able to tour freely even after we leave the EU.
'Finally, we should make the UK the best place to invest in new content by forging an online environment that is safe for consumers and where illegal sites cannot flourish. If we do this, the future for British music, which is already one of our leading exports, will be very bright,' he said.
