Music consumption in the UK was up again in 2022 – or so says record industry trade group BPI in its customary end-of-year stats pack focused on how much music was streamed by and sold to British consumers in the last twelve months.
Based on its crunching of Official Charts Company data, the BPI reckons that 159.3 billion audio streams occurred on digital music platforms in the UK last year, up 8.2% on 2021. This means that, in the average week, more than three billion audio streams are being played by British consumers across the various music services. Good times.
If you do the magical (and only slightly mysterious) maths that equates streams to album sales, streaming accounted for 86.1% of recorded music sales last year, in terms of units rather than cash through the till. As for the other 13.9%, that comes from the sale of downloads, CDs, vinyl and cassettes, of course.
Which of those sold the most? Go on, have a guess. That’s right. It’s the format we all love. The format that gets everyone excited. The nostalgia! The retro sensation! The warm glow as you set the listening experience in motion!
Yes, we’re talking about the good old compact disc. Because who doesn’t love a CD?! And, perhaps importantly, we’re talking about units here, remember.
Vinyl is now outperforming CD in revenue terms, but when it comes to units shifted, 11.6 million CDs were sold in the UK last year, compared to 5.5 million vinyl records. You can just get away with selling vinyl at a much higher price. There were also 3.7 million album download sales last year (somehow), while somebody somewhere bought 195,000 cassettes.
But what music specifically were British people streaming and buying and playing in 2022? British music, that’s what. Good, proper, solid, honest, credible, dependable, reliable, healthy, nutritious, patriotic, dutiful and sensible British music. Just like God intended. The British God mind, not one of those foreign gods.
Because, yes, for the first time since records began every one of the top ten most consumed tracks in the UK last year was by or featured British artists.
Now this might be because the UK music community is on fire at the moment. Or maybe, in post-Brexit Britain, British music fans have now taken back control and kicked all of the foreigners out of their playlists.
Though the non-Brits in the 2021 UK top ten were from the kinds of English-speaking countries Brexiteers tend to like, so that can’t be it. Let’s all agree that the UK music community is just on fire at the moment. Hope it doesn’t all burn down in 2023.
In terms of which British artists occupy the 2022 top ten, there are some current superstars, newer talent and, of course, good old Kate Bush. Here’s the list of the ten most consumed tracks in the UK last year…
1. Harry Styles – As It Was
2. Ed Sheeran – Bad Habits
3. Fireboy DML & Ed Sheeran – Peru
4. Cat Burns – Go
5. Ed Sheeran – Shivers
6. Kate Bush – Running Up That Hill
7. Glass Animals – Heat Waves
8. Lost Frequencies & Calum Scott – Where Are You Now
9. LF System – Afraid To Feel
10. Sam Fender – Seventeen Going Under
Commenting on all this British success, music-maker, educator and BPI Chair YolanDa Brown says: “It’s wonderful to see so many exciting new artists breaking through to thrive alongside more established UK artists – leading the next wave of British talent to global success thanks to the compelling mix of their creativity and artistry, the ever-expanding opportunities afforded by streaming and the support of their record labels. I congratulate British artists and their teams on another year of brilliant success”.
In case you’re interested, here are some other year-end music charts for the UK courtesy of the BPI and Official Charts Company…
Albums (All Formats)
1. Harry Styles – Harry’s House
2. Ed Sheeran – =
3. Taylor Swift – Midnights
4. The Weeknd – The Highlights
5. Olivia Rodrigo – Sour
6. Eminem – Curtain Call – The Hits
7. Elton John – Diamonds
8. Fleetwood Mac – 50 Years – Don’t Stop
9. Little Mix – Between Us
10. Abba – Gold
Vinyl Albums
1. Taylor Swift – Midnights
2. Harry Styles – Harry’s House
3. Arctic Monkeys – The Car
4. Liam Gallagher – C’mon You Know
5. Fleetwood Mac – Rumours
6. Wet Leg – Wet Leg
7. The 1975 – Being Funny In A Foreign Language
8. Arctic Monkeys – AM
9. Fontaines DC – Skinty Fia
10. Muse – Will Of The People
Cassette Albums
1. Arctic Monkeys – The Car
2. Harry Styles – Harry’s House
3. Florence And The Machine – Dance Fever
4. Muse – Will Of The People
5. Central Cee – 23
6. Robbie Williams – XXV
7. 5 Second Of Summer – 5SOS5
8. Blackpink – Born Pink
9. The 1975 – Being Funny In A Foreign Language
10. Machine Gun Kelly – Mainstream Sellout
Streamed Tracks
1. Harry Styles – As It Was
2. Ed Sheeran – Bad Habits
3. Glass Animals – Heat Waves
4. Cat Burns – Go
5. Ed Sheeran – Shivers
6. Fireboy DML & Ed Sheeran – Peru
7. Kate Bush – Running Up That Hill
8. LF System – Afraid To Feel
9. Lost Frequencies & Calum Scott – Where Are You Now
10 Dave – Starlight