UK recorded music revenue reached £1.5bn for the first time in 2025, largely thanks to a new wave of UK artists.
At the very end of 2025, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) shared that the UK recorded music market had grown for an 11th consecutive year, with consumption across sales and streams growing 4.9%. Last week, BPI gave an encouraging update and shared that revenues rose by 5% to “a new nominal high of £1.57 billion”.
A major factor behind this growth has been a new generation of British artists breaking through. According to BPI’s update, emerging talent helped push the UK recorded music market past £1.5 billion in annual revenue for the first time ever.
Artists including Olivia Dean, Lola Young, Skye Newman, SIENNA SPIRO, EsDeeKid, Sleep Token and YUNGBLUD were among the rising names helping to drive momentum across the industry. Many of these artists enjoyed success both in the UK and internationally. In fact, Olivia Dean and Lola Young both went on to win Grammys and BRIT Awards in 2026, demonstrating just how quickly new talent can make a big impact.
The geographic spread of success was also notable. Artists from nine of the UK’s twelve nations and regions topped the Official Albums Chart during 2025. This included artists from North-East England, North-West England, Scotland, Wales, the West Midlands and Yorkshire. A stark contrast to the previous year, as Complete Music Update points out that not one UK artist featured in the Official Charts top five most-streamed tracks in 2024.
Streaming remained the largest source of revenue for recorded music. In 2025, streaming income grew by 4.6% to reach £1.07 billion. This means streaming accounted for 67.7% of total recorded music revenue, although figures display a continued gradual slowing of YoY growth. Paid subscriptions generated the majority of that figure, bringing in £902.2 million from services including Amazon, Apple, Spotify and YouTube.
Ad-supported streaming also saw significant growth. Revenue from ad-funded services rose 13.9% to £163.4 million, with ad-supported audio streaming alone increasing by 21.8%. These numbers could represent a swathe of brand-new users, or it could represent more and more people deciding they’ve had enough of price increases and switching to free plans.
Physical formats also delivered strong results. Revenue from physical music increased by 12.8% to £278 million, marking a third consecutive year of growth. Vinyl once again led the way, with sales rising by 19.9% to reach £174.7 million, marking the format’s highest revenue in more than three decades.
CDs also saw a small rebound, with revenue rising 3.1% to £99.6 million after a slight dip the year before. However, not every area of the industry grew. Public performance income fell 0.6% to £162.6 million, while synchronisation revenue dropped 10.8% to £39.2 million.
Even so, the wider picture remains positive. According to the BPI, UK recorded music revenue is now nearly 90% higher than it was a decade ago.
“Beyond the positive headlines, what is especially satisfying about this 11th consecutive annual rise in UK recorded music revenue is that it has been in part driven by a resurgence in British music with a new generation of artists breaking through. Its impact is being felt not just at home but globally, highlighted by the recent Grammy wins of Olivia Dean, Lola Young and others, as well as on streaming services and music charts around the world.
This success is a testament to our brilliant record labels and shows what can be achieved in the right business environment. Underpinning this success is the UK’s gold-standard copyright framework, and it remains essential that this is safeguarded by our policymakers as a burgeoning market to license music to AI firms takes root.”
BPI Chief Executive Dr Jo Twist OBE
These figures from BPI demonstrate how a new wave of exciting UK artists continues to shape and influence the future of the UK music industry. BPI Chair YolanDa Brown OBE DL commented, “As anyone who saw this year’s BRIT Awards in Manchester can testify, British music is in incredibly strong health and much of it is being led by outstanding new talent drawn from across the UK. Given the intense global competition, I know how increasingly hard it is for our music to compete when fans have endless choices, so this success shows what can be achieved when artists of all backgrounds are paired with world-class record labels backing their careers.”
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source routenote.com ’
