THE STATE OF
U.K. MUSIC

The U.K. music industry contributed £4.1billion in GVA to the British economy for the second straight year in 2015, outperforming the overall economy by 7% over the last four years.

However, it’s not all good news—that £4.1b ($5.47b) contribution is the same as it was in 2014, despite the U.K. economy growing 2.2% overall in 2015. If the British music industry had grown at the same pace as the economy, it would have topped £4.19b last year.

The results are according to figures in U.K. Music’s annual Measuring Music report. Contributing the most cash was the live music industry with £904m. Recorded music made £610m and publishing made £412m, with musicians, composers, songwriters and lyricists topping £2b.

In terms of retail value, physical albums counted for 48%, and digital albums took 17% in 2015. Subscription streaming counted for 24% and digital singles for 11%.

YouTube is by far the most popular form of consumption in the U.K., with more than 30% of respondents to a survey by Audiencenet accessing the website weekly. CD follows at over 20%, closely tailed by Spotify then iTunes.

Revenue from subscription streaming services has jumped to £251m in 2015 from £106m in 2013. Digital albums hit £233m in '15, up from £175m over the last three years.