Kim Bayley: Celebs Rumors

ERA, the digital entertainment and retail association, the value of UK music rose seven per cent to an all-time new record of £11.9billion.The ERA say the “main driver of growth” in 2023 came via streaming and digital services, which increased their revenue by more than £800million in one year. Streaming now accounts for 91.7 per cent of the total revenue for UK music nationally.As well as streaming, sales of vinyl increased by 18 per cent, and CD sales also saw a two per cent increase in sales – the first value increase in the medium in almost twenty years.It means music revenues were at their highest since 2002 and are now just 0.8 per cent below the music industry’s greatest revenue year of 2001.ERA Chairman Ben Drury said of the statistics: “The entertainment business is defying gravity, delivering eleven straight years of growth regardless of wider economic conditions.“Due credit should go to the amazing creative talent behind the movies, music and games we all love, but we should also recognise the huge contribution of the digital services and retailers who have reinvented the entertainment experience for consumers over the past 15 years,” he continued.“The overwhelming majority of the money raised by digital services and retailers goes direct to the content owners, and their success is directly benefitting creators.”ERA CEO Kim Bayley added: “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.

BBC).The ERA’s 2024 Yearbook (published today, March 6), which contains statistics on the music, video and gaming sectors, also found that the UK music market was worth £2.2billion last year. 84 per cent of this was attributed to streaming subscriptions.The number of shops physically selling music, however – like supermarkets and specialist chains – fell from 10,391 to 2,486 in that period.The demand for vinyl records, meanwhile, continued to increase for the 16th year in a row.

most recently, debut albums.Taking place on Saturday October 14, the event is presented in association with official broadcast partner BBC Sounds – aiming to unite the music community and celebrate the meaningful impact an album can make.This year marks the sixth edition of the event – which originally launched in 2018 – and seeks to shine a light upon the artists and albums that defined the 1990s. All genres from the decade are included, whether it be Britpop acts including Oasis and Pulp, trip-hop artists such as Portishead or pop icons like the Spice Girls.

Mark Sutherland It’s been a curious month for the U.K. music biz, with events dominated by the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Her passing was announced just as the industry was descending on the Mercury Prize with Free Now awards in Hammersmith, West London – a ceremony that was abruptly pulled, despite 11 of the 12 nominated artists being in the room. Organizers will now have another try on Oct. 18, although how many of the nominees will make the rescheduled date remains to be seen. The official mourning period also had a significant impact on the country’s radio networks, with most music stations shifting overnight to somber music and news updates.

Vinyl is the UK’s second best selling physical entertainment format in 2022, according to new research.Only Nintendo Switch games are ahead of vinyl in terms of sales so far this year, despite being down 12.5 per cent year-on-year while record sales are up 12.2 per cent, figures from the Entertainment Retailers Association show.According to ERA, vinyl has generated £80.9million in sales so far in 2022, up from £72.1million this time last year.The format is also outselling Playstation games, which saw a 6.5 per cent year-on-year rise and CDs which are down 8.1 per cent.“Vinyl’s rise and rise seems unstoppable,” said ERA CEO Kim Bayley. “For a 74-year-old analogue format to eclipse the digital-age technology of games platforms is quite extraordinary.

Adele has been named as the UK’s best-selling female album artist of the century.The London singer topped the chart from The British Phonographic Industry (BPI), fending off competition from the likes of Pink, Madonna, Rihanna, Dido and Amy Winehouse in sixth.Her second album, ‘21‘, also holds the title for the UK’s number one album by a female artist since 2000, after shifting just shy of 6 million copies in the UK alone.The new statistics have been unveiled to coincide with the confirmed return of National Album Day on October 21, which will adopt ‘Celebrating Women In Music’ as its 2021 theme.Geoff Taylor, Chief Executive BPI, and Kim Bayley, Chief Executive Entertainment Retailers Association, the organisations behind National Album

LONDON – Tributes have been paid to former Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) chairman Paul Quirk, who has died at age 71 following a short battle with cancer.