Music sales hit 20 year high – but “beneath the surface, UK artists earn far below average salaries”

nme.com:

Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music – with digital listening accounting for nearly 85 per cent of the total figure.There has also been a steady growth in physical sales in recent times, and last year the market for vinyl records increased by 10.5 per cent.

This is the equivalent of 6.7million sales and a revenue of £196million. Similarly, CD sales also brought in £126.2million, with roughly 10.5million albums bought.Some of the biggest albums of the year which contributed to the figures included Taylor Swift‘s ‘The Tortured Poets Department’, which sold 783,820 copies, as well as Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Short N’ Sweet’, Chappell Roan’s ‘The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess’ and Charli XCX’s ‘Brat’.As reported by the BBC, ERA head Kim Bayley, called 2024 a “banner year” for music – and the figures mark a stark increase compared to 10 years ago when recorded revenue from music in the UK dropped to £1.03billionDespite the rise of music consumption in 2024, there is still a bleak reality facing countless artists.

Although nearly £2.5billion has been spent on music in the past 12 months, the Musician’s Union has revealed the startling statistic that almost half of all working musicians in the UK earn less than £14,000 a year.Speaking about the harsh circumstances facing talent, particularly in the UK, the union’s general secretary, Naomi Pohl said: “Sadly, professional musicians, artists and songwriters are not enjoying the boom represented by these figures.“They are facing multiple problems including the high cost of living and touring, stagnating public arts funding, problems touring in the EU post-Brexit and, crucially, they are not receiving their fair share of streaming revenue.”Similarly, Featured Artists Coalition.