Total eclipse of the charts: Alarming drop in UK artists’ global record sales

For decade upon decade, Britannia ruled the airwaves. Since the Beatles exploded on to the pop scene in the early 1960s, a seemingly endless conveyor-belt of richly diverse UK music talent went on to dominate the charts in just about every country.

The Rolling Stones, The Kinks and The Who were among the first to spearhead what was dubbed the British Invasion of the US Top 10.

And in the ’70s, Rod Stewart, Elton John, David Bowie and Queen became household names across the globe. Punk Rock, the New Romantics and bands such as Wham!, Culture Club and The Police soon followed, then Britpop, led by Oasis, kept the cash tills ringing at home and overseas.

However, recent reports suggest the UK music industry has hit something of a crisis point for British stars, who are now struggling to perform well in the global charts.

In recent years, Ed Sheeran, Adele, Coldplay and Harry Styles have dominated the scene with their hits. But for the first time in two ­decades, British acts didn’t make it into the worldwide annual charts of the year’s top 10 bestselling singles or albums.

© Ian West/PA Wire

The lists, published recently by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, a body representing the recording industry worldwide, did not feature any UK acts. In contrast, just two years ago, acts from the UK occupied seven out of the 20 entries in the end-of-year singles and albums charts.

The most recent UK act to top the American charts was Harry Styles with As It Was in 2022. Before that, Adele’s Easy on Me was the previous chart-topper from the UK, in 2021. Previously, UK acts had appeared in one, or both, of the top-10 singles and albums lists every year since at least 2003.

The UK music industry is still a massive earner. But despite its value rising to a record £7.6 billion last year and revenue from music exports hitting a new high of £4.6bn, the recent dip in chart recognition both at home and abroad has started alarm bells ringing.

UK artists now cumulatively account for less than 10% of global audio streams, whereas their collective share of global music consumption was estimated at 17% in 2015, according to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

Tom Kiehl, chief executive of industry umbrella organisation UK Music, said that despite the record figures, the sector faced some major headwinds.

“This is not a time to be complacent,” said Kiehl. “The UK music industry has vulnerabilities, too. Increasing global competition, tough financial conditions for artists and the grassroots, as well as the wild west that is generative AI, are all conspiring to be significant challenges.

“We are now at a tipping point, and if the problems we face are not addressed then future growth cannot be guaranteed.”

© L J Van Houten/Shutterstock

Scotland has played a significant part in the UK success story with acts such as Simple Minds, Annie Lennox and Texas finding world fame. But veteran Scots music business consultant Ronnie Gurr – who has guided the careers of Culture Club, Alison Moyet and Stereophonics among others – said newer acts are now finding it tougher to build a fan base at home then go on to break through internationally.

“In recent times, the competition from just about every country has increased significantly because of the rise of music streaming services,” Gurr said. “In the past, it was mostly British and American music that was available to buy and that dominated the radio, TV and music charts.

“But people now have much easier access to music of every kind and this has led to them following bands from their own countries, and who sing in their own language, which has impacted on the level of interest in new music coming from Britain. Another big issue is there just isn’t the same level of financial support as there used to be from record companies for new artists.

“Tours were an important marketing tool to sell records and in the past record companies would cover or subsidise the cost of this but now they are more interested in developing acts they think will do well on the likes of Tik-Tok. Also, streaming services like Spotify are adding around 100,000 new tracks from around the world every day, and that is a lot of competition. It is not that we have a shortage of talent, it is just getting harder to get heard.”

However, while a small number of big-name UK acts are still proving to be cash cows for the industry, figures from the Music Venue Trust charity reveal that about 125 grassroots music venues across the UK closed last year, and more than 350 are currently at risk.

Since the live music shutdown during the pandemic, the festival sector has also struggled to rebound, with smaller-scale events disappearing or struggling to continue.

The Association of Independent Festivals has said 60 festivals announced postponements, cancellations or closures this year, while 192 have disappeared since 2019.

Mark Mackie, boss of longstanding Scots concert promoters Regular Music, said building an audience from ground level up was vital for a supply of quality artists and live bands, but that in recent times this had become increasingly difficult.

“There has never been more interest in seeing live music in Scotland, but the number of small venues that have now closed certainly isn’t helping new talent to come through.”

He said that Brexit had proved another major obstacle for up-and-coming bands to reach a live audience in Europe.

“Previously it was fairly easy to set up and get to a string of gigs all over the continent, but prohibitive new paperwork and increased costs for travelling between countries now means it tends only to be already established acts that can afford it.”

He added: “Another problem for the industry here is that the American promoters have got so good at pushing their music that they now have bases in most major cities, including London. And because they have more arenas and stadiums than anywhere else, they are now so good at staging spectacular live pop shows that they make it hard for anyone else to compete.”

However, it is far from all being doom and gloom for UK pop and rock, with some industry experts describing the recent decline in chart success as “a blip”.

Dr Jo Twist, chief executive of the BPI, said: “It’s fair to say there have been stronger years for British artists, who, in part due to the levelling effect of streaming globally, now face stiff competition. Clearly American pop stars led by Taylor Swift are enjoying a real moment of ascendancy right now,” she added, while warning that the growing markets of Asia, Africa and Latin America meant it was becoming much harder for British musicians to cut through in a “hyper-competitive global music economy”.

© Dave Hogan/Hogan Media/Shutterst

However, UK talent, ranging from Charli XCX, Dua Lipa, and Coldplay to The Last Dinner Party, Beabadoobee, and Myles Smith, still had “brilliant years,” Twist said. The industry now hopes Styles, Robbie Williams and Adele will ride to the rescue in 2025.

“Music is cyclical and some of our major artists have not been active and can be expected to return this year with new material,” Twist said. “So, I think we can be optimistic and look upon it as a blip for now, but without becoming complacent.”