UK’s music streaming market hit record high in 2023

The year also proved to be a record-breaking one for female artists, who spent 31 out of 52 weeks atop the UK’s Official Singles Chart.

The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) has published its 2023 report on music consumption, with the results showing a ninth consecutive annual rise in the UK’s consumption of recorded music.

According to the report, the UK’s streaming market hit another record high last year with 179.6 billion audio streams accumulated across the 12 months – a 12.8 percent increase from the previous year and nearly double the total achieved five years earlier.

Streaming now accounts for 87.7 percent of the UK music market, compared to 63.6 percent in 2018.

Meanwhile, overall music consumption – with sales and streams combined – increased by 10 percent to 182.8 million albums (or their equivalent) in 2023.

Notably, data revealed that female artists fueled the growth in streaming consumption, having spent a record-breaking 31 out of 52 weeks at No.1 on the UK’s Official Singles Chart in 2023 – the highest since the charts launched in 1952.

Leading the way is Miley Cyrus’s Flowers, which topped the charts for 10 weeks; the song also proved to be the year’s biggest hit, clocking in at a whopping 198 million streams.

In addition, nearly half (48.5 percent) of the tracks that reached the Top 10 of the weekly Official Singles Chart last year were by women, either solo or in collaboration with other artists. This represented their highest annual share of Top 10 hits this century.

“Whilst work continues towards achieving full representation for women across the music industry, 2023 has been a brilliant year for women in the Official Charts,” BPI Chief Executive Dr Jo Twist OBE says of the achievement.

“Women spent more weeks at No.1 on the Official Singles Chart than in any previous year, while seven of the ten biggest tracks were by women. This should be celebrated, but without complacency, and our work in the music industry continues to ensure that this becomes the norm.”