The U.K. music industry grew to £1.2 billion ($1.621 billion), a 9.6% increase over the nearly £1.1 billion ($1.48 billion) generated in 2016, according to interim data compiled by the Entertainment Retail Assn., a trade association representing digital services and retailers that sell entertainment software.
Of that, streaming was the largest component with £577.1 million ($778.6 million), growing 41.9% from £406.6 million ($548.6 million) in the prior year. Along the way, streaming also surpassed physical as the top channel, which allied revenue of £459.2 million ($619.5 million), a 3.4% decline from the £475.4 million ($641.4 million) the formats generated in 2016. Within physical, vinyl grew 33.7% to £87.5 million ($118.05 million) pounds from £65.6 million ($88.5 million).
Meanwhile, digital download revenue fell 23.1% to £165 million ($222.6 million) from £214.6 million ($289.5 million) in the prior year.
The 9.6% in growth recorded by music was more than double the 4.6% growth recorded in 2016 over 2015 when music revenue totaled about £1.047 billion ($1.41 billion).
Overall, when other entertainment software such as video and video games are taken into account, the entertainment market total £7.2 billion ($9.77 billion), an 8.8% increase from the prior year when revenue came in at £6.66 billion ($8.98 billion). Of that total, digital services like Spotify, Steam, Netflix, Amazon, Deezer, Sky, Apple and Google captured 71.9% of sales.
“This is an historic result which demonstrates the benefits of innovation and investment in new technology,” ERA CEO Kim Bayley said in a statement. “New digital services are bringing ever increasing numbers of the U.K. population back to entertainment with 24/7 access to the music, video and games they want.”
Bayley noted that in the past the entertainment market was dependent on the release schedule of game publishers, film studios and record labels. “Now we are seeing a market which is also driven by digital platforms and technologies,” she added in a statement.