Figures released by digital entertainment and retail association (ERA) revealed that last year’s music consumption was the biggest it had been in twenty years in the UK. With the revival of vinyls and more physical copies being sold, consumption reached the equivalent of 201.4 million albums in 2024. Streaming alone was responsible for 178 million of that, a new record since 2004’s high of 172 albums sold. So far, ERA’s figures show music revenue grew by 7.4 % this past year. It is a new record, set by a generation that loves collecting physical copies of albums and taking time to really feel and enjoy the music.
It’s music’s world and we’re all living in it! Streaming and the vinyl revival have led music revenues to an all-time high that’s the best result for music since the CD era with sales exceeding £239m!
Read the full story here: https://t.co/lQozs6oru7pic.twitter.com/eiAlRVNU7f
— ERA (@ERALTD) January 8, 2025
ERA CEO Kim Barkley was featured on the company’s article revealing the figures:
“2024 was a banner year for music, with streaming and vinyl taking the sector to all-time-high records in both value and volume. This is the stunning culmination of music’s comeback which has seen sales more than double since their low point in 2013. We can now say definitively – music is back.”
And music is back, but the era of streaming doesn’t necessarily exclude great sales of CDs, vinyls and cassettes. CEO Kim Barkley in fact believes that the two go together, and says:
“With nearly 14% of revenues still coming from physical, music shows the benefits of having a mixed physical-digital ecology, we continue to believe that digital and physical channels are complementary and vital for the health of the entertainment market overall.”
But what albums led the sales? Figures show that Taylor Swift’s ‘The Tortured Poets Deparment’ was the biggest selling album of the year: it sold 783,820 copies, 111,937 of which were vinyl copies. The album was also named Official Chart’s Best Selling Album of the year in a recent list by the company. Noah Kahan led singles sales with ‘Stick Season’, which sold the equivalent of 1.99 million copies and also became Official Chart’s Biggest Song of the Year.
A big factor into this growth is the revival of vinyl: thanks to events like Record Store Day and new, popular trends, vinyls have become extremely popular and have boosted the music economy. Taylor Swift had the most sold album on vinyl, followed by Oasis’s ‘Definitely Maybe‘, Chappell Roan’s ‘The Rise and Fall of a Midwestern Princess‘, Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Short n Sweet‘ and Fontaines DC ‘Romance‘. These numbers are also boosted by new and exclusive presses being released, and artists choosing to create multiple versions of albums’ vinyls to satisfy the commercial demand and, above that, to satisfy fan request.
Music fans’ love affair with physical formats endures as @ERALTD reports overall revenues were up 6.2% YOY in ’24. Vinyl continues to be the main driver, with retail revenues up 10.5%, growing faster than streaming. All would not be possible without the hard work of UK retailers! https://t.co/wm8Krr9AZw
— Drew Hill (@DrewHill) January 8, 2025
2024 was the biggest year for music since the CD era, and perhaps it marks the beginning of a new, exciting era where streaming and physical copies are both appreciated and co-exist in the celebration of music.
