Taylor Swift helps UK music sales hit a new record for the first time in TWO decades

Levels of British music consumption have reached a record high, surpassing the previous peak reached two decades earlier, new figures show.

Driven by the success of streaming services and the resurgence of vinyl sales, the ‘equivalent’ of 201.4 million albums were sold last year, surpassing the previous record set in 2004 during the ‘CD boom’.

UK consumer spending on recorded music, including subscriptions and purchases, reached £2.39 billion, breaking the previous record of £2.22 billion set in 2001, according to digital entertainment and retail organization ERA.

The boss of the music, video and video games industry association ERA called the figures the “stunning high point” of the “music comeback” and said sales had more than doubled since the “trough” of 2013.

This success was driven in part by top artists like Taylor Swift, whose release of The Tortured Poets Department was the best-selling album of the year, with 783,820 sales. This included 111,937 copies sold on vinyl.

Noah Kahan’s Stick Season was the top single of the year with the equivalent of 1.99 million sales.

That year, sales of vinyl albums grew by 10.5 percent to £196 million, while CD album revenues were flat at £126.2 million.

This meant that physical sales of music increased by 6.2 percent.

This success was driven in part by top artists like Taylor Swift, whose release of The Tortured Poets Department was the best-selling album of the year, with 783,820 copies sold.

Last year, streaming was the equivalent of 178 million albums alone. Total music revenues increased by 7.4 percent in 2024 (stock image)

Music streaming revenues also rose by almost eight percent this year to more than £2 billion.

The more than 200 million albums consumed last year beat the previous record of 172 million set in 2004.

Last year, streaming was the equivalent of 178 million albums alone. Total music revenues increased by 7.4 percent in 2024.

Kim Bayley, CEO of the ERA, said: ‘2024 was a banner year for music, with streaming and vinyl taking the sector to record highs in both value and volume.

‘This is the stunning peak of music’s comeback, with sales more than doubling since their low point in 2013. We can now say definitively: music is back.’

The organization’s president, Linda Walker, added: “We are witnessing a fundamental shift in the dynamics of the entertainment industry.

‘Digital services and retailers have become the drivers of the market.

‘For decades it was new releases that generated the most revenue. In 2024, subscription sales will now be a much more important factor.’

But there was less good news for the video games market, which fell 4.4 percent, as revenue from physical game sales fell nearly 35 percent (stock image)

This reflects the fact that subscription gaming is becoming increasingly popular, following a similar model to Netflix or Spotify (stock image)

Physical video sales, including DVDs, fell 7.9 percent. The best-selling video title of the year was Deadpool & Wolverine with sales of 561,917, of which more than 80 percent were sold digitally

Total entertainment revenue exceeded £12 billion for the first time.

But there was less good news for the video games market, which fell 4.4 percent as revenue from the sale of physical games plummeted by almost 35 percent.

This reflects the fact that subscription gaming is becoming increasingly popular, which follows a similar model to Netflix or Spotify.

The shift away from outright game sales saw PC downloads fall by five percent, digital console games by 15 percent and boxed games by a third.

Despite this, the games industry is almost twice as big as the music industry.

Video, which includes subscription services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, remains the largest of the three sectors, with sales up almost seven percent to £5 billion.

Money from these types of subscription streaming services rose by 8.3 percent to £4.5 billion, accounting for almost 90 percent of the sector’s revenues.

Physical video sales, including DVDs, fell 7.9 percent.

The top-selling video title of the year was Deadpool & Wolverine with sales of 561,917, more than 80 percent of which were sold digitally.