BRITISH LABEL REVENUE UP 7.3%

Record label income in the U.K. grew by 7.3% in 2019 to hit nearly £1.1b, marking the fourth consecutive year of growth, according to figures from the BPI. Cash earned from streaming rose by 21.8% to represent nearly 60% of the market at £628.9m.

British record labels earned £1.07b from the sale of music last year—the highest trade income since 2006 when the combined total was £1.166b.

Subscription streaming revenues grew 21.7% in 2019 to £568.8m (90% of the streaming pie) while ad-supported rose 29.7% to £24.7m (4%). Video streaming was up 18.8% to £35.3m (6%).

Downloads dipped 28.7% to represent a 5.4% share of the market at £58.1m. Physical sales dropped 10.4% to a 20% share at £215.8m. Within that, CDs declined 19.8% in value to £141.7m (13.3% of the overall trade total), while vinyl rose 16.1% to £66.3m (6.2%).

Revenues of £28.3m generated from the licensing of sync music represented an 11.1% rise year-on-year.

The figures are in line with the music consumption report that BPI released in January, which reported a rise of 7.5%. Streaming counted for a 74% share of album equivalent sales (AES) after rising 26%.

“The music industry’s success is powered by record labels’ up-front investment and shouldering of risk, so it is important to the sustainable health of the music ecosystem that label revenues grew on last year’s results,” said BPI & BRIT Awards Chief Executive Geoff Taylor.

“But there is no room to rest on our laurels. British music faces intense competition at home and abroad, is undervalued by some tech platforms and is undermined by widespread illegal sites. In fact, total revenues remain more than a fifth below the post-Millennium peak recorded in 2001. It is time for a new partnership with Government to unleash the full potential of our music industry to benefit our culture and our economy.”