British music consumption rises again in 2018

British artists, blockbuster film soundtracks, vibrant streaming growth & resilient demand for physical formats combine to fuel a near 6% rise in music consumption in 2018 – the fourth year of growth in a row. A total of 142.9 million albums or their equivalent were either streamed, purchased on physical format, and/or downloaded over the past 12 months (Music News). Sales of CDs plummeted by 23% last year, sales of vinyls rose 1,6% to 4.2 million records, a total of 91 billion songs were played on Spotify, Apple Music and their competitors last year - the equivalent of 1,300 songs per person in the UK - and streaming now accounts for nearly two thirds (63.6%) of all music consumption in the UK (BBC).