Trends in the consumption of recorded music

Question 1

According to the BPI (British Phonographic Industry), UK spending on recorded music

Answer 1

increased by 4.8% to £1.49bn in 2024

Question 2

Physical music sales

Answer 2

rose by 1.3% to £246.5m

Question 3

Digital download revenue

Answer 3

dropped by 6.6% to £24.3 million

Question 4

Streaming revenue totalled

Answer 4

£1.02 billion to make up 68.1% of recorded music revenue

Question 5

UK recorded music consumption across sales and streams

Answer 5

rose 9.7% last year to 200.5 million albums

Question 6

Since 2014, annual streaming revenue has

Answer 6

increased by more than 800% in total to become the main format for recorded music in the UK

Question 7

In 2024, the UK’s music consumption

Answer 7

reached a record 201.4 million album equivalents, with streaming accounting for approximately 68% of total recorded music revenue

Question 8

Paid subscriptions to services such as Amazon, Apple, Spotify and YouTube

Answer 8

make up the vast majority of streaming revenue

These brought in £875.5 million in 2024 and account for more than 86% of the £1.02 billion UK streaming market

Question 9

Digital download revenue

Answer 9

dropped by 6.6% to £24.3 million, the second year in a row of modest decline

Question 10

Physical formats like vinyl and CDs saw a

Answer 10

combined revenue increase of 1.3% in 2024, amounting to £246.5 million

Question 11

Revenue from sales of vinyl LPs

Answer 11

rose by 2.9% to £145.7 million

Question 12

Revenue from vinyl

Answer 12

grew more than 650% from £19.4 million in 2014

6.7 million units were sold, an increase of 9.1%

Question 13

In 2014, half of the year’s Top 10 vinyl sellers were

Answer 13

catalogue (older) titles

Question 14

Brand new releases play

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an increasingly significant role in growth - in 2024 eight of the year-end Top 10 were current releases, including Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department and Charli XCX’s Brat

Question 15

Revenue from sales of CDs

Answer 15

fell by 0.5% in 2024 to £96.7 million

Question 16

Over the last three years CD sales have

Answer 16

stabilised to become a £90 million-plus annual market

Question 17

In 2024, CD purchases totalled

Answer 17

10.5 million units

Question 18

Like vinyl, the CD market is

Answer 18

led by the popularity of new releases

Examples include new albums by Coldplay and Sabrina Carpenter

Question 19

Streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music

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dominate the UK market, with streaming accounting for 68% of total recorded music revenue in 2024

Question 20

The UK saw a

Answer 20

7.8% rise in streaming subscriptions in 2024, highlighting that there is a growing number of consumers willing to pay for music access

Streaming has become a significant revenue source for artists

Question 21

Platforms like Spotify use

Answer 21

advanced algorithms to curate personalised playlists such as ‘Discover Weekly’

These playlists increase user engagement and encourage new music discovery

They have shifted listeners from active searching to passive discovery, impacting how new music is consumed and popularised

Question 22

Artificial intelligence is used to

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analyse user preferences, refining recommendations and influencing listening patterns

Question 23

For artists, reliance on

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algorithms creates a challenge for visibility, as breaking into popular playlists can be competitive and algorithm-dependent

Question 24

TikTok has

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emerged as an important platform for music discovery, with viral trends leading to mainstream success for some songs and artists

Question 25

In 2024, 10 of the 11 UK Official Chart number ones were

Answer 25

tied to major TikTok trends

Question 26

The platform has led to

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the resurgence of older songs In 2024, 19 out of the top 50 tracks on UK TikTok posts were more than five years old

Question 27

Virality on TikTok often leads to

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increased streams on music platforms, leading to additional revenue and exposure

Question 28

Tik Tok users are

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68% more likely to use a paid-for music streaming subscription than the general population Musicians are increasingly using TikTok for promotion to engage directly with fans and use the platform's algorithm to reach broader audiences

Question 29

Musicians are

Answer 29

increasingly using TikTok for promotion to engage directly with fans and use the platform's algorithm to reach broader audiences

Question 30

Vinyl sales in the UK have experienced a

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revival in recent years, with over 6.7 million units sold in 2024, marking the 17th consecutive year of growth

Question 31

There are several reasons for this revival (1) Many listeners appreciate the

Answer 31

physicality of vinyl records, including the larger album artwork and the act of playing a record

Question 32

There are several reasons for this revival (2) Vinyl enthusiasts often argue that

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records provide a warmer, more authentic sound compared to digital recordings

Question 33

There are several reasons for this revival (3) The vintage nature of vinyl records

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appeals to both older generations reminiscing and younger listeners drawn to retro trends

Question 34

There are several reasons for this revival (4) Purchasing vinyl records is seen by fans as

Answer 34

a direct way to support their favourite artists, especially as streaming royalties are usually small

Question 35

There are several reasons for this revival (5) Record Store Day, established in 2007, has

Answer 35

played a key role in promoting vinyl , encouraging exclusive releases and driving traffic to independent record stores

Question 36

There are several reasons for this revival (6) Vinyl releases often include

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exclusive content such as bonus tracks, special artwork and coloured discs, enhancing their appeal

Question 37

The return of vinyl records to the

Answer 37

UK's inflation basket in 2024 reflects their renewed significance in consumer spending habits