Recent years have brought with them considerable increases in the number of individuals who use music-streaming services, and according to a report on the entertainment habits of UK residents, the rise of digital media is just beginning.
The report counters some more dour reports of a streaming music slowdown, though streaming’s searing early-adoption phase is likely over. Still, streaming’s gains remain robust.
During the first half of 2019, UK consumers spent nearly £485.9 million ($585 million) on music streaming services alone — an increase of nearly 26 percent from 2018’s half-year spending. Report analysts noted that streaming is now devouring most other recorded music formats; streaming music services boast well over 200 million paying subscribers worldwide — up from 100 million subscribers in 2016.
The positive stats didn’t end there, however.
Per the same report, UK consumers also spent roughly £186.9 million ($224 million) on music downloads and merchandise during the first half of this year. While this figure is down slightly from the first half of 2018, downloads are becoming increasingly offset by streaming’s unprecedented growth.
Even considering this modest reduction in download and merchandise spending, the UK’s music market has seen an overall spending increase by about 10 percent from the first half of 2018.
Bohemian Rhapsody, a 2018 biopic about Freddie Mercury and Queen, continued to produce substantial revenue and, to be sure, helped to bolster 2019’s half-year entertainment spending. Nearly 1.5 million copies of Bohemian Rhapsody were bought by UK consumers this year, and it should also be mentioned that A Star is Born sold close to 600,000 copies during the first six months of 2019.
Though a digital-physical breakdown wasn’t provided in the report, it can be stated with confidence (based upon the available statistics) that many of these purchases were made via on-demand video. In this way, music has also benefited video-streaming profits and platforms.
Through the first half of 2019, UK customers spent 16 percent less on physical entertainment products than they did during the first half of 2018; digital spending increased by about 10 percent during the same period, and overall growth (in terms of spending) wound up at 4.5%.
The reach of entertainment-streaming services— in particular music-streaming services — cannot be understated, though the broader tide of streaming media is also continuing to rise.