As publication day nears for the IFPI’s Global Music Report, another of the world’s biggest recorded music markets has published its 2022 figures. The BPI reported this morning that UK recorded music revenues grew by 4.7% last year to £1.32bn ($1.57bn at current exchange rates).
It’s the eighth consecutive year of growth for this metric, and the highest total on record, although the BPI pointed out that when adjusted for inflation it’s still “hundreds of millions” of pounds short of 2006, which was the first year sync and public performance revenues were included in the calculations.
UK streaming revenues grew 6.3% in 2022 to £885m – 67.2% of the total – including a 4.8% rise in subscriptions revenue to £762.8m, and a 22.3% rise in ad-supported streaming revenue to £62.5m. While the BPI was keen to stress that this is still “worth less than a tenth of the value of subscriptions”, the growth is still notable.
We do need to talk about deceleration. That 4.7% growth in overall revenue is down significantly from the 12.8% increase in 2021, while the 6.3% growth in streaming revenues is down from 13.7% in 2021. The market is still growing, but the slowdown in that growth is very clear.
As for physical sales in the UK, they fell by 10.5% to £215.7m last year. Within that, vinyl continued its resurgence, up 3.1% to £119.5m. With CD sales falling 23.7% to £89.5m, vinyl sales were higher for the first time since 1987.
“We must guard against any complacency in the face of growing challenges and keep promoting and protecting the value of music,” was how the BPI’s chief strategy officer and interim CEO Sophie Jones put it, calling for “the music community to unite and create the impetus for further growth”.
Talking of that, this morning has also seen the UK’s umbrella music industry body UK Music write to chancellor [finance minister] Jeremy Hunt MP outlining eight measures it would like to see him take to better support the British music industry.
You can read the full letter here, but its demands include further action on high energy bills (which music venues, recording studios etc are suffering particularly from); reducing business tax rates for venues and studios; reducing VAT on live events; and providing tax breaks for music production akin to those offered to the film, TV, animation and games industries.
The report also calls for the establishment of a UK music export office; an extension of tax relief for orchestras; an ‘arts pupil premium’ to help ensure children from underprivileged backgrounds have access to music and arts education; and a ‘transitional support package’ to help the music industry deal with post-Brexit challenges – akin to a £23m fund established for the fishing industry.
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