Adele, Harry Styles Help Boost UK Music Sales in 2023, But Global Competition Slows Growth.

Global superstars such as Adele, Harry Styles and Ed Sheeran helped British music sales soar to a record high of $775 million ($974 million) last year, despite competition still growth from other international markets such as Latin America and South Korea is putting the UK’s long-held “music superpower” at risk, according to trade body BPI .

The BPI, which represents more than 500 independent labels, as well as the UK arms of Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group, said overseas sales for 2023 were the highest annual total since the organization begins analyzing overseas income in 2000 and beyond. more than three times the amount recorded in the previous decade.

However, last year’s 7.6% increase in overseas sales – which includes all music sales and streams by UK artists overseas – was less than half the increase in 20% recorded in 2022, while the BPI estimates that artists from the UK now make up less than 10. % of music sales worldwide, according to figures released on Monday (Oct. 21).

By comparison, as recently as 2015, UK artists were estimated to account for a combined 17% of global music consumption, reports the BPI, which based its figure on commercial revenue. of the label.

“It’s encouraging to see British recorded music continue to play a strong role in the world, but we can and must do better in the face of fierce global competition in competing markets. it’s growing fast,” said the BPI CEO. Jo Twist in a statement.

The BPI said the UK was no longer competing with cultural “heavyweights” such as the US and Canada but also with fast-growing music markets in Latin America and countries such as South Korea where artists could find massive government support.

To maintain a “proud record as the strongest music,” said Twist, British music businesses must get government support to create a “supportive policy environment” that encourages investment. label to talent. Future rules on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the UK must keep “human creativity at the heart of the innovation process,” the BPI boss said.

Adele, Dua Lipa, Sheeran, Styles, The Beatles, Queen and Elton John were all ranked among the UK’s most streamed artists worldwide last year, the London-based trade association said, citing data from Luminate.

Breakthrough acts Glass Animals, PinkPantheress, Raye and rapper Central Cee have all received more than 1 billion streams worldwide by 2023, while almost 500 UK artists have amassed more than 100 million global streams this year ago, from about 450 in 2022, reports the BPI.

Globally, consumption of British music increased in every region last year, with sales revenue up 8.2% in North America and 4.8% in Europe – the regions that two of the UK’s biggest music acts, accounting for almost 80% of the world’s total combined. There were also double-digit increases in Latin America (up 17%) and Africa (up 11%), although comparable figures were not provided.

In terms of countries, the US remains the largest market for UK music sales, accounting for £321 million (£417 million) in business revenue, an increase of 8.3% on last year. . Germany ranks second with taxes rising 6.7% to 63 million dollars ($82 million), followed by France (up 2.4% to $57 million). China overtook Sweden to claim tenth place, with British earnings rising 11% to £14 million ($18 million) in the country.

The UK is the third largest recorded music market in the world after the US and Japan with sales of $1.9 billion by 2023, according to the IFPI. It is also the second largest seller of recorded music in the world after the US