Photo: Chris MacDonald
As a new year begins, it has been revealed that UK album and single sales saw a significant drop in 2014 - while streaming saw a boost of 65 per cent.
The Official Charts Company and the BPI have announced that UK album sales generated £713 million in 2014 compared to £773 million in 2013 - showing a drop of 7.8 per cent. Singles sales also dropped from £168 million to £142 million over the last year a 15.3% decline.
It's not all doom and gloom over, with money made from streaming seeing a phenomenal 65.1 per cent increase - soaring from £106 million to £175 million.
This meant that the overall retail value of the UK music industry fell from £1.05 billion to £1.03 billion, by 1.6 per cent.
"The remarkable success of British artists in 2014 is exciting news for the future," said BPI and BRIT Awards chief executive Geoff Taylor. "Our record labels are backing home-grown talent like Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith and George Ezra, who in turn are catching fire around the world.
"With major new premium services from Apple and YouTube set to boost subscription streaming even further in2015, we believe the UK’s world-leading music industry is strongly positioned for future expansion."
The most streamed artists of 2014 were:
1. Ed Sheeran
2. Sam Smith
3. Arctic Monkeys
4. Eminem
5. Calvin Harris
6. Coldplay
7. One Direction
8. Beyoncé
9. Katy Perry
10. Bastille
