UK spending on musical albums and singles in 2023 grew nearly twice as fast as the previous year to the highest level since before the Napster pirating era, helped by a resurgence in purchases of CDs and vinyl.
Music sales grew 9.6% to £2.22 billion in 2023, up from 5% growth in 2022, the Digital Entertainment and Retail Association ERA revealed.
It was the largest spending on music since 2001 when CDs reached their peak and more than double the level of 2013 when music sales plummeted due to pirated music over several years on the likes of Napster, Kazaa, Limewire, Soulseek and MegaUpload.
The main drivers of growth last year remained streaming services including Spotify, YouTube, Amazon and Apple's iTunes, with subscription streaming revenues growing 9.8% to £1.87 billion, extending their all-time high.
But physical sales returned to growth after a rollercoaster few years with a 10.9% increase to £311 million after a 4% decline in 2022 and the first time above £300 million since 2019.
Vinyl album sales grew by 17.8% to £177.3 million, while CDs recorded their first rise in sales value for two decades, up 2% to £126.2 million.
ERA chief executive Kim Bayley said: “With revenues just a fraction away from music’s all-time-high, this is a red letter day for the music industry and is a testament not just to the creativity of artists, but to the entrepreneurial drive of digital services and retailers. A world without streaming now seems unthinkable.
"Meanwhile the tenacity of physical retailers has driven not just the vinyl revival, but a surprise increase in the value of CD sales."