Weekly audio streams in UK crosses landmark 500M
The weekly volume of audio streams in the UK has doubled over the past year, reaching 500 million per week for the first time in history.
That’s according to new figures released by UK recorded music body BPI, which reported the territory reached 505.85 million audio streams on the chart week ending Thursday July 16. Newcomers Apple Music and TIDAL helped boost the numbers.
While YouTube and Vevo content aren’t currently included among data collated by the UK’s Official Charts Company, if they were, annual streams across all platforms (including Spotify, Rdio, Google Play and Deezer) would likely reach 50 billion streams.
Historical BPI statistics published by MBW show audio stream numbers in the UK are higher in one week than compared to a whole month in 2012.
BPI estimates that if the current adoption rate of streaming continues for the rest of the year, music streams in the UK will surpass 25 billion by year end – compare that to 14.8 billion in 2014, 7.4 billion in 2013 and 3.7 billion in 2012.
The most streamed track in the first six months of 2015 was Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’ Uptown Funk, which received over 45 million streams. The most streamed UK artist was Ed Sheeran, whose tracks were streamed over 170 million times between January and June.
Geoff Taylor, Chief Executive BPI and BRIT Awards, said in a statement: “It’s remarkable that we now speak of billions of audio streams per month – it demonstrates vividly just how quickly streaming is being embraced by British music fans.
“As more consumers explore the enhanced experience offered by premium quality subscriptions such as Apple Music and Spotify Premium, it will help our world-leading record labels invest even more into unearthing the next generation of British talent for fans here and around the world.”
According to accountant firm PwC's annualGlobal Entertainment and Media Outlook 2015-2019 streaming is set to overtake downloading in 2018. The report, which was released in June this year, predicted streaming would reach US$1.9 billion in 2019, up 11.2% from $1.1 billion in 2014.
Locally, streaming services now contribute to over 10% of the total market value. ARIA’s January-released wholesale figures for 2014 showed that subscription service income doubled to $23 million, up 111% from 2013.
Most streamed artists in UK (Jan-June 2015)
1. Ed Sheeran
2. Sam Smith
3. Hozier
4. Drake
5. Rihanna
6. Eminem
7. Chris Brown
8. Calvin Harris
9. David Guetta
10. Beyoncé
Most streamed songs in UK (Jan-June 2015)
1. Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars / Uptown Funk – Columbia Label Group ( Sony Music)
2. Omi / Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix) – Syco Music (Sony Music)
3. Hozier / Take Me To The Church – Island (Universal Music)
4. Ed Sheeran / Thinking Out Loud – Atlantic Records UK (Warner Music)
5. Ellie Goulding / Love Me Like You Do – Polydor (Universal Music)
6. Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth / See You Again – Atlantic Records UK (Warner Music)
7. James Bay / Hold Back The River – Virgin EMI (Universal Music)
8. Maroon 5 / Sugar – Polydor (Universal Music)
9. Years & Years / King – Polydor (Universal Music)
10. Major Lazer ft. Mo & DJ Snake / Lean On – Because Music
Source: Official Charts Company