UK music consumption increases for 7th year running up by 2.5% in 2021 according to figures released by the BPI. The figures based on Official Charts Company data showed that 159 million albums or their equivalent were either streamed or purchased in 2021. The UK consumption total was made up primarily of streams, comprising over 147 Bn individual audio streams, up 5.7% on 2020 and representing an equivalent of 132 million streamed albums (up 5.7%).
In 2021 nearly 2,000 artists (1,918) were streamed over 10 million times in the UK (excluding global streams, which tend to be x4 greater). This compares with 1,798 in 2020 and 1,537 in 2019, up a quarter in two years. Additionally, there were over 14 million CDs and 5.3 million vinyl LPs purchased, with 185,000 cassettes sold and 4.6 million album downloads. Overall, streaming now accounts for 83% of UK music consumption, while vinyl LPs represent over a quarter of all purchases on physical format.
It was also another strong year for homegrown talent, with UK artists Adele, Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, Dave, Elton John, Queen and Fleetwood Mac accounting for eight of the year’s top 10 albums.
UK Official Albums Chart 2021
- Adele – 30
- Ed Sheeran – =
- ABBA – Voyage
- Olivia Rodrigo – Sour
- Queen – Greatest Hits
- Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia
- Ed Sheeran – Divide
- Elton John – Diamonds
- Fleetwood Mac – 50 Years: Don’t Stop
- Dave – We’re All Alone in this Together
Streaming now accounts for well over four-fifths (83%) of UK music consumption. In June 2021 the UK had its first week when audio streams topped the 3 Bn mark and this was repeated three times in December. With 180 artists achieving more than 100 million streams in the UK over the past 12 months, and nearly 2,000 artists (1,918) seeing their songs streamed at least 10 million times in the UK, their success contributed to a total of more than 147 billion audio streams served in 2021 – up by 5.7% on 2020.
According to the BPI, streaming means nearly twice as many artists are now earning meaningful royalties compared to the CD era. All of the top 10 streaming artists in 2021 achieved over half a billion UK streams, while well over half of the top 100 artists achieved over 200 million streams. Typically, a track needs to achieve over 1.4 million audio streams in a single week just to break into the Official Singles Charts Top 40. Well over 8,000 different artists now exceed 1,000,000 annual streams in the UK. For an artist, 10 million streams generates at least the same royalties as 10,000 CD sales, and nearly 2,000 artists will achieve at least 10 million streams this year in the UK alone – nearly double the number who sold the equivalent number of CDs and downloads in 2007.
While the growth in streaming underpinned much of the rise in consumption, the enduring appeal of vinyl continued. Vinyl confounded supply and production challenges in 2021 to jump by 11% to well over 5 million (5.3m) copies purchased – representing a 14th year of consecutive growth. The continuing revival of the audio cassette, which grew by 19% to 185,000 copies purchased – the highest total since 2003 – further demonstrated the collectible appeal of recorded music on physical formats as a complement to streaming.
Compact Disc has been showing a decline in demand since 2004 as fans first switched to downloads and then to streaming services. However, in 2021, boosted by CD-friendly releases from superstar artists such as Adele, Ed Sheeran and ABBA, the rate of decrease slowed to just 11%, suggesting that demand for the format, which is nearing its 40th anniversary, may solidify as baby-boomers and collectors remain committed to the audio format.
Physical remains a ‘kingmaker’ for No.1 albums: in the vast majority of weeks (40) in 2021, it accounted for over half of chart-eligible sales of the Official Charts No.1 artist album. This trend is best exemplified by Adele’s album 30, which in December saw 80% of its chart sales total made up of physical format sales. Digital albums also continued their long-term trend, down by 23%, but they still contributed 4.6 million unit purchases to the overall total.
The UK Official Singles Chart 2021, UK Official Vinyl Artist Albums Chart 2021, UK Official Cassette Artist Albums Chart 2021 and the UK Official Charts Most Streamed Audio Tracks 2021 can be found on the Official Charts Company website here.
