UK recorded music (trade) revenues increased by 8.1% YoY to GBP £1.43 billion in 2023.
That’s according to the BPI, the recorded music trade association in the UK, the world’s third largest recorded music market behind the United States and Japan, respectively.
That total £1.43 billion figure for 2023 converts to USD $1.77 billion at the average annual exchange rate published by the IRS.
Record label revenues reported by the BPI on Thursday (March 14) comprise income generated through streaming, purchases across physical and download formats, public performance rights, and ‘sync’ – music licensed for use in film & TV, games soundtracks and advertising.
BPI noted that record company earnings from public performance rights are generated by the broadcast and public performance of recorded music and that the figures presented below represent income collected on behalf of producers (i.e. record labels and not artists).
The total recorded music trade revenue figure reported by BPI for 2023 was the highest nominal annual amount achieved to date for recorded music in the UK.
The org has pointed out however, that once adjusted for inflation using the Consumer Price Index (CPI), UK recorded music trade revenues in 2023 were £478 million below the figure of £1.90 billion, where the industry should have been in real terms since 2006.
Using the Retail Prices Index (RPI), UK trade revenues would have been £771 million higher at £2.2 billion.
Streaming
In the UK last year, revenues generated by streaming were up 8.4% YoY to £962.1 million ($1.196bn), representing 67.4% of the market’s total recorded music revenues (67.3% in 2022).
According to data published by BPI in January, the UK saw a 12.8% YoY uplift in audio streaming volume in 2023 to a total of 179.6 billion streams.
Meanwhile, BPI reported that revenues from paid subscriptions to music streaming services such as Amazon, Apple, Deezer, Spotify and YouTube grew 8.1% YoY to £827.4 million (USD $1.029 billion).
That paid subscription music streaming figure accounted for nearly 86% of the total £962.1 million of revenue generated by music streaming in the UK in 2023.
Revenue from ad-supported audio services, meanwhile, grew 12.4% YoY to £71.5 million ($88.93m) in 2023, “despite only contributing a fraction of the revenue” according to BPI.
Flowers by Miley Cyrus was the most-streamed track of 2023 in the UK with 198.1 million audio and video streams in the market, followed by Sprinter by Dave & Central Cee (160.6 million streams) and Escapism by Raye ft 070 Shake (142.0 million streams).
Physical
Elsewhere in the market, revenue from physical formats grew by 12.8% YoY in 2023, having fallen by 10.5% YoY the previous year.
That growth in 2023 was led by vinyl revenues, which were up by 18.6% YoY to £141.6 million ($176.11m) in 2023. Vinyl accounted for 58.2% of all physical music revenues in the UK in 2023, compared to 55.4% in 2022.
BPI noted that the £141.6 million generated by vinyl in 2023 was “nearly 12 times the amount” generated by the format in 2013 when it contributed just over £12 million to the market.
New releases were the key driver behind the 18.6% YoY rise in vinyl revenues last year with seven of 2023’s 10 biggest vinyl sellers in the UK released during the calendar year, including 1989 (Taylor’s Version) by Taylor Swift, Hackney Diamonds by The Rolling Stones and Did You Know There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd by Lana Del Rey.
Elsewhere in the physical market, the CD revenues rose 5.4% YoY to £97.2 million ($120.89m) in 2023, following a 23.7% YoY fall in 2022.
Sync and public performance
Annual public performance revenues in the UK surpassed £150 million ($186.56m) for first time.
Public performance income, which is generated by the broadcast and public performance of recorded music, increased by 7.3% YoY with £154.5 million collected on behalf of record labels in 2023.
Revenues gernated from synchronisation or ‘sync’, when music is used in visual media such as film, TV, games and advertising, was £39.5 million ($49.12m) last year, a drop of 7.6% YoY.
“Led by streaming, this ninth consecutive annual rise in recorded music revenues highlights how a balanced and prosperous market enabled by significant label investment can help even more artists to succeed.”
Dr Jo Twist OBE, BPI Chief Executive Officer
Dr Jo Twist OBE, BPI Chief Executive Officer, said: “Led by streaming, this ninth consecutive annual rise in recorded music revenues highlights how a balanced and prosperous market enabled by significant label investment can help even more artists to succeed.
“It would be all too easy to take this growth for granted, but at a time when British music faces unprecedented competition from around the world and challenges at home, it’s vital the right conditions remain in place here to give British music every opportunity to thrive.”
“It’s fantastic that the UK recorded music market hit a new high last year.”
YolanDa Brown, BPI
YolanDa Brown OBE DL – artist, music education campaigner and BPI Chair, added: “It’s fantastic that the UK recorded music market hit a new high last year, which is testament to all the incredible music that diverse artists are creating, including across new genres, with the support of their record labels.
“As someone who has such fond memories going into record shops as a child to buy CDs, I am particularly pleased that the popularity of this wonderful format is showing signs of a revival, something that we’ve been seeing with vinyl for well over a decade now., as the ONS has now picked up on.”Music Business Worldwide
