Streaming services soundtrack lockdown

But while more people are listening to music, fewer are buying it

Streaming equivalent albums

Track equivalent albums (equal to 10 digital songs purchased)

WITH the country once again in lockdown more people are likely to turn to music for comfort but fewer people are buying albums. According to data from the Official Charts Company, overall sales of physical albums fell by 25 per cent, from 28m units in 2019 to 21.1m last year - with CD sales plummeting by almost a third (32 per cent), from 23.5m to 16.1m.

Sales of digital albums fell by 19 per cent, from 7.3m units to 5.9m.

Yet despite this, the data shows more people listened to music more frequently in 2020, which was driven by streaming services such as Spotify and Amazon.

Last year the equivalent of 125m albums were streamed online, a 20 per cent increase on the previous year, as millions of people forced to stay home due to coronavirus restrictions turned to their favourite bands and artists for comfort.

That means streaming now accounts for more than 80 per cent of the UK’S music consumption.

The vinyl revival did continue, however, with LP sales rising by 12 per cent from 4.3m units to 4.8m.

Sales of other formats of listening to music, including tape cassettes, rose by two thirds (68 per cent), but with 208,000 units sold in 2020, that represents just a fraction of the market.

Overall, “album equivalent sales” rose by eight per cent, from 143.6m to 155.4m.

That is a standard industry metric which allows streamed music to be compared with physical album sales. Typically, 1,000 songs streamed equals one album sold.

Lewis Capaldi’s Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent was the top selling album of 2020, followed by Harry Styles with Fine Line and then Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia.

According to the BPI - which represents the UK’S recorded music industry - almost 200 artists achieved 100m streams or more in 2020, which it says was fuelled by record label investment in marketing and A&R (artists and repertoire).

But this comes at a time when musicians have seen incomes massively slashed due to venues being closed and artists being unable to perform live shows due to the pandemic.

Geoff Taylor, chief executive of the BPI, the BRIT Awards and the Mercury Prize, said: “The performance of recorded music in 2020 was remarkable, and reminds us how important music is to our country, even when our lives are disrupted.

“But any satisfaction we can take is tempered by the devastating impact of the pandemic on live music.

“Recorded music is only one element of artists’ incomes, and we renew our calls on Government to support our culturally important venues, nightclubs and festivals until they can safely reopen."

Mr Taylor said streaming music has allowed more artists to be “active in the market than ever before”, which was “great news for fans”.

But he added that the competition meant it was harder than ever for artists to achieve success, which means, “continued support and investment from record labels in marketing and production is crucial”.