UK music fans spent a record £2.4 billion on recorded music in 2024, driven by major releases from Taylor Swift, Coldplay, and Billie Eilish.
This marks the highest annual spending on music, surpassing the £2.2 billion peak during the height of CD sales in 2001.
Streaming subscriptions and vinyl sales were key contributors to this surge, with streaming accounting for nearly 85% of the total revenue, according to the Digital Entertainment and Retail Association (ERA).
Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department emerged as the year’s best-selling album, with 783,820 copies sold, while Noah Kahan’s Stick Season was the biggest single, generating the equivalent of 1.99 million sales.
Vinyl sales rose by 10.5%, reaching 6.7 million discs and generating £196 million, while CD sales held steady at £126.2 million, selling 10.5 million units.
ERA’s CEO Kim Bayley called 2024 a “banner year” for music, with revenues more than double the 2013 low point.
However, when adjusted for inflation, the industry’s revenue still lags behind 2001 levels, equivalent to £4 billion at that time.
Despite the growth, questions about fair artist compensation in the streaming economy persist, as almost half of UK musicians reportedly earn less than £14,000 annually.
Elsewhere in entertainment, video proved the most popular home format, with spending on streaming services, movie rentals, and DVDs surpassing £5 billion.
The comic book movie Deadpool & Wolverine led sales with 561,917 units, over 80% of which were digital.
Video games experienced a decline in revenue, dropping from £4.8 billion in 2023 to £4.6 billion in 2024.
The market saw high-profile flops, including Concord, Suicide Squad, and Skull & Bones, alongside a 35% drop in boxed physical game sales.
EA Sports FC 25 retained its position as the best-selling game, with 2.9 million copies sold, 80% of which were digital.
Nintendo’s enduring influence was evident, with its Switch-exclusive titles comprising half of the top 10 best-selling games.
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