UK recorded music exports rose in value by 1.9% in 2024 to £794.2 million.
That is the highest level of annual recorded music exports since the BPI began its yearly survey of record label overseas income in 2000, when the total was £364m. It is more than treble the amount of over a decade ago in 2013 (£243m).
The BPI credited record labels’ long-term investment in new talent and established acts, noting that between 2020 and 2024 label businesses invested over £2 billion in artist A&R and marketing.
“As a result, we are seeing a new generation of UK artists establishing themselves globally alongside the likes of Adele, Dua Lipa, Harry Styles and Ed Sheeran – notably artists such as Charli XCX and Central Cee, and most recently Sam Fender, Myles Smith, Lola Young, Jade and The Last Dinner Party, among others – new stars who all shone at this year’s BRIT Awards,” said the BPI’s statement.
However, the UK faces challenges in a slowing and increasingly competitive global market. The 1.9% increase in label income from sales and streams of music overseas in 2024 was down compared to the 7.6% the year before, and there were fewer UK artists at the top end of the worldwide streaming market.
Key findings from the latest exports data include:
– The UK saw growth in all but one of the main global regions in 2024, led by double-digit rises of 29% in the Middle East and 12% in Africa.
– North America & Europe remained the biggest regions for export, accounting for 80% of the global total.
– Overall, the ranking of the top 10 markets for UK music exports remained largely the same, the exceptions being Brazil replacing China, and Italy moving one place up.
– All except one of the UK’s five leading export territories experienced growth, including its biggest market, the US, which on its own accounts for over 40% of UK’s overseas recorded music revenues.
– Revenue in the USA was up by 2.4% year-on-year, with successes in that market including albums from Charli XCX, Dua Lipa and Coldplay and high-charting tracks from artists such as Artemas and Central Cee, alongside platinum singles for Myles Smith and Good Neighbours.
– In Europe, exports to Germany, the UK’s second biggest market, rose by 2.4%, and exports to France were up 8.3%. Income derived from the Netherlands was up 7.6%, with increases of 15.8% and 15.5% in Spain and Italy.
Although the UK remains the world’s second biggest music exporter, in 2024 no British artists ranked among the 20 most-streamed artists globally, compared to three artists the year before.
Catalogue accounts for a substantial share of UK success on DSPs. 2024’s Top 100 ranking for the most streamed acts globally, according to data by Luminate, includes UK acts Adele, Arctic Monkeys, Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles and Sam Smith as well as heritage acts such as Queen, The Beatles and Elton John (who remains an active artist with two UK No.1 albums this year).
It’s brilliant to see British artists, backed by their labels, continue to shine on the world stage
Dr Jo Twist
A broad range of UK artists achieved over one billion audio streams in 2024, including Becky Hill, Sleep Token, Fred Again and Artemas, among many others.
The BPI estimates that UK acts account for around 8-9% of global streams – slightly below the average of around 10% in more recent years.
UK acts are now competing not just against traditional heavyweight music markets, such as the US and Canada and those in Europe, but also fast-growing territories including those across Latin America, Asia and Africa.
Dr Jo Twist OBE, BPI chief executive, said: “It’s brilliant to see British artists, backed by their labels, continue to shine on the world stage, including a new generation of talent such as Charli XCX, Lola Young and Myles Smith, among others. Their emergence shows we are on the cusp of future success, but if we are to realise this potential in an increasingly competitive global market and keep British music a headline act, we need the right environment, where the industry comes together to deliver growth to the UK, and we have a government that values not just the cultural power of British music but also the foundations of its success: creative arts education, labels that are supported and encouraged to invest in talent, successful programmes like the Music Export Growth Scheme, and a gold standard copyright framework that safeguards creativity and rewards human artistry.”
During 2024, around 600 British artists each accumulated over 100 million audio streams worldwide. This included over 30 acts, such as The Japanese House, Nothing But Thieves, Idles and Shygirl, who were previously supported in their overseas marketing by the BPI-administered Music Export Growth Scheme (MEGS). Across all MEGS recipient acts there were a collective 15.9 billion global streams amassed in 2024, up 11% on the total for this cohort in 2023.
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