UK music streaming sales topped £1 billion last year for the first time, but the industry faces the looming threat of artificial intelligence (AI) copyright plans, according to the BPI.
Demand for vinyl also continued to grow with the release of albums by bestselling artists including Sabrina Carpenter, Coldplay and Taylor Swift.
But paid subscriptions to platforms like Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube, music with adverts, and video streaming continued to make up the bulk of revenues.
Analysis from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), the trade body for the UK’s music industry, showed the UK streaming market generated £1.02 billion last year.
It made up more than two thirds of total sales, at 68.1%, up fractionally from the 67.5% last year.
The increase was partly driven by platforms raising their subscription prices during the year, it found.
Across the entire UK recorded music market, which also includes vinyl, CDs, digital downloads, and music used in films and TV, revenues reached £1.49 billion in 2024, up 4.8% on 2023.
The BPI works out the value of all recorded music sold and streamed within the UK for the analysis – meaning music made by global artists is included.
The trade body’s members include hundreds of record labels, including Universal and Sony in the UK, and it co-owns the Official Charts.
The BPI’s chief executive, Jo Twist, hailed a “decade of growth” for the industry, with record labels investing billions of pounds to promote new artists across genres of music.
“But, in the face of intensifying global competition, it’s essential they’re empowered by a supportive policy environment to keep British artists on the world’s top step,” she added.
“Crucially, this requires the exciting potential of AI to be realised by the Government safeguarding the UK’s gold-standard copyright framework and not siding with global big tech at the expense of human artistry and our world-leading creative industries.”
The remarks follow significant criticism among renowned musicians including Sir Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney and Kate Bush of proposals to use copyrighted material to help train AI models.
The plans, which could see creators be forced to opt out to prevent their work from being used, was the subject of a Government consultation.
More than 1,000 musicians came together to record a silent album in protest at the proposals last month.
A UK Government spokesperson said: “As it stands, the UK’s current regime for copyright and AI is holding back the creative industries, media and AI sector from realising their full potential — and that cannot continue.
“We will now consider the full range of thousands of responses we have received through our consultation on a new approach. No decisions will be taken until we are absolutely confident we have a practical plan that delivers each of our objectives.”
Data collected by the BPI showed revenues from vinyl soared by than 650% over the last decade with new releases helping drive a resurgence in demand for the physical records.
Four tracks each generated more than 200 million audio and video streams in the UK last year: Noah Kahan’s Stick Season; Benson Boone’s Beautiful Things; Sabrina Carpenter’s Espresso; and Teddy Swims’ Lose Control.
