UK music exports reached a post millennium high of £408.4m in 2017, the highest this century according to the BPI, the UK’s recording industry association. Overseas earnings by UK record labels increased by 12% in 2017 helping the UK economy to the tune of over £5 billion since 2000.
This continuing growth, which follows an 11% rise to £364 million in 2016, underlines the enduring popularity of British music, with UK artists accounting for one in every eight albums consumed globally in 2017 and the world’s best-selling artist album in nine of the past thirteen years, most recently with Ed Sheeran’s multi-Platinum Divide.
1 in 8 albums sold in the world are British
Last year’s strong export figures were fuelled by phenomenal global demand for Ed Sheeran’s Divide, which sold 6.1 million copies worldwide (excluding streams) according to IFPI contributing to Sheeran’s dominance as the Global Recording Artist of 2017 ahead of Drake and Taylor Swift. Other stand-out performances by British artists included Rag’n’Bone Man, whose debut Human was the fourth best-selling album in the world, ahead of Sam Smith’s The Thrill of it All at No.5 and Harry Styles’ self-titled solo release, which also made the global Top 10. New talent such as Dua Lipa is also engaging with global audiences which promises continued growth in the future.
Revenue growth was most-marked across Europe up 29% over the past two years since 2015. Increases in major markets Germany (+9%), France (+57%), Italy (+22%) and Spain (+33%) led the way, contributing to a European total of £165 million in 2017 and a 42% share of the UK’s global music exports. Europe as a whole remains the UK’s biggest export market for music, although the US is the biggest single national market by far, accounting for over a third (35%) of the UK’s music earnings.
The biggest-single rise in exports since 2015 came in China (+432%), admittedly from a lower base, with an encouraging five-fold increase in revenues. There were also notable results in Brazil (+57%) and in India (+120%) over this two year-period underlining the growing importance of Asian and Latin American markets to British music.
Reflecting on these achievements, Geoff Taylor, Chief Executive BPI & BRIT Awards said, ‘British music is riding high once again around the world, boosted by the talent of our artists and songwriters and the innovation and investment of record labels. Our music not only enriches the lives of fans around the world, it makes a major contribution to the UK economy through overseas sales and by attracting numerous visitors to the UK.’
