The market value of the UK recorded music business was flat in 2013, according to new BPI stats, at around £1 billion.
Music streaming surpassed £100 million for the first time in the year, with new BPI/Official Charts Company stats showing that the overall market revenues were down just 0.5% year-on-year to £1.04bn.
However, unit sales data didn’t bring good news: album sales across both digital and physical formats showed a 6.4% decline to 94m, whilst single sales dropped by 3.4% to 182.2m.
Revenues generated by singles were down 1.6% to £167.8m, while the overall value of the albums market dropped 3.6% to £772.1m.
Sales of CD albums were down sharply by 12.8%, but it still claimed more than 60% of all albums sales. Vinyl album sales continued to shoot upwards, increasing 101% on 2012.
Despite these declines, the UK market was able to offset its losses with the explosive growth in streaming services, which claimed around 10% of the total market value.
According to the BPI, premium-account subscriptions to audio streaming services such as Spotify and Deezer generated £103m in 2013 – a 34% rise on 2012’s streaming haul of £77m. The figures does not include revenues from ad-funded streaming services including YouTube. Streaming unit numbers doubled year-on-year, from 3.7bn in 2012 to 7.4bn in 2013.
The overall value of downloaded digital music in 2013 grew, up 3.5% to £397.2m. Digital album unit sales were up 6.8% year-on-year, claiming 34.7% of the market. Physical music’s value declined 7.6% to £542.7m.
The biggest-selling album overall was Now That’s What I Call Music 86, with 1.1m copies shifted. One Direction’s Midnight Memories was the biggest-selling artist album of the year, with 685,000 sales in just six weeks. Arctic Monkeys were the most streamed artist of the year.
BPI Chief Executive Geoff Taylor said: “The success of digital music in 2013 surpassed all previous records – we celebrated the one billionth track download, counted four million-selling digital singles, and streamed more than 7 billion songs. As digital music moves into the streaming era, the prospects for future growth in the UK music market look strong.”
BPI Chairman, Tony Wadsworth CBE added: “The British public’s affinity for British music is alive and kicking! For an impressive ninth year in a row, a UK artist signed, developed and supported by a British record label has claimed the best-selling artist album on home turf. The hat-trick of chart achievements from One Direction, Bastille and Arctic Monkeys has certainly set a high benchmark for UK acts to follow in 2014, but we say watch this space.”
Music Business Worldwide
