Music consumption in the UK has increased for the seventh year in a row

The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) has reported that the UK’s music consumption went up by 2.5% in 2021.

The UK’s consumption was mostly made from streams at 83% which totalled over 147 billion individual audio streams. This is up 5.7 percent from 2020 and shows the seventh consecutive year of an increase in growth.

By using Official Charts Company data, the BPI discovered that 159 million albums were either streamed or purchased across all formats in the UK in 2021.

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2021 saw around 2,000 artists streamed more than 10 million times in the UK compared to 1,798 in 2020 and 1,537 in 2019.

The British artists, Adele, Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, Dave, Elton John, Queen and Fleetwood Mac make up for eight of the year’s Top 10 albums in the UK.

The UK public purchased over 14 million CDs, 5.3 million vinyl LPs, and 185,000 cassettes. Vinyl LPs represent over a quarter of all purchases on physical format.

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Streaming music now means that nearly twice as many artists are now earning meaningful royalties compared to the CD era however, vinyl sales have reached their highest level in 30 years.

Chief Executive BPI, BRIT Awards & Mercury Prize, Geoff Taylor said: “As our lives continue to be disrupted, the past 12 months have reminded us again of the important role that recorded music plays in our lives.”

Taylor added: “At the same time, the rise of streaming has empowered more artists than ever – from all backgrounds and eras – to build new fanbases around the world and to forge successful careers in music, while record labels have continued to provide the investment and support needed for British talent to thrive and reach a truly global audience.”

[Via: NME]

Becky Buckle is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow her on Twitter