In the British music industry, female musicians had a tremendously successful year according to recent data from the British Phonographic Institute (BPI). They spent an exceptional 31 weeks at the top of the UK singles chart and were responsible for seven out of the top 10 singles of the year, as well as over half of the top 20.
Over the course of the year, Miley Cyrus spent a total of ten weeks at the number one spot with her hit single “Flowers”. She shared the top position with other popular artists such as Dua Lipa, Ellie Goulding, Kenya Grace, Raye, Billie Eilish, Doja Cat, Olivia Rodrigo, and Taylor Swift.
Cyrus, Swift, Goulding, and Raye, along with SZA, PinkPantheress, and Cameroonian-American singer Libianca, were responsible for seven out of the top 10 most popular tracks of the year. This is the largest number of artists to achieve this feat in the history of the Official Singles Chart, spanning over 70 years.
Ellie Goulding’s song “Miracle” was a joint effort with Calvin Harris. The other songs in the top 10 were by Dave and Central Cee, as well as Nigerian artist Rema.
Dr Jo Twist, the CEO of BPI, expressed enthusiasm for the change, but cautioned against becoming too comfortable. “We are constantly striving in the music industry to make this the standard practice.”
Furthermore, nearly half of the songs that made it to the Top 10 this year were created by women, either as solo artists or in collaboration with others. This marks the largest percentage of female artists in the Top 10 in a single year since the start of the century.
In total, the British music industry experienced its ninth consecutive year of growth in 2023. The number of albums and equivalent units sold or streamed increased by 10%, reaching a total of 182.8 million. Streaming reached a new peak with 179.6 billion audio streams in a span of 12 months, marking a 12.8% increase from the previous year and nearly double the amount in 2018.
Unfortunately, due to the impact of streaming, there were no new albums from 2023 that made it into the Top 10 of the year. The only exception was Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version), which was a complete re-recording of her 2014 album and placed at No. 3. The remaining albums in the Top 10 were from 2022, with Swift’s Midnights coming in second, SZA’s SOS (released in December 2022) at eighth, and Harry Styles’ Harry’s House at fifth.
The top 10 albums for the year included mostly greatest hits collections, with many of the same artists as the 2022 list. The number one album was The Weekend’s “The Highlights”, followed by Elton John’s “Diamonds” at number four, Fleetwood Mac’s “50 Years – Don’t Stop” at number six, Eminem’s “Curtain Call: The Hits” at number seven, and Abba’s “Gold” at number ten. Rounding out the list was Arctic Monkeys’ 2013 album “AM” at number nine.
Vinyl sales experienced their 16th consecutive year of growth, with an increase of 11.8% to reach a total of 6.1 million units. This marks the highest level of vinyl sales since 1990. In contrast to the outdated overall physical and streaming Top 10, the vinyl chart showcased seven new albums, including Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) at No. 1, followed by the Rolling Stones’ Hackney Diamonds (No. 2), Lana Del Rey’s Did You Know There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (No. 3), Taylor Swift’s Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (No. 4), Blur’s The Ballad of Darren (No. 7), and Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts (No. 9).
The decrease in sales of CDs decreased at a slower rate, with a decline of 6.9% to 10.8 million units. The album “This Life” by Take That was the top-selling CD of the year. Cassettes, on the other hand, maintained a consistent sales rate in the six-figure range for the fourth year in a row, with approximately 136,000 units sold. The tape “Guts” by Rodrigo was the best-selling cassette, with almost 8,500 copies sold in its first week of release.
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Streaming comprised more than 80% of the overall recorded music market, but of the 44 albums that debuted at No 1, 86% had more than half their chart-eligible sales made up by physical sales – likely a result of artist-incentivised preorders, with physical units sold offering a heavier chart weighting than streamed units.
The largest albums in the UK for 2023.
The Highlights – The Weeknd
2. Taylor Swift – Midnights
3. Taylor Swift – 1989 (Taylor’s Version)
4. Elton John – Diamonds
“Harry Styles’ residence, titled ‘Harry’s House’, is number 5.”
The band Fleetwood Mac has been together for 50 years and their latest album is titled “Don’t Stop.”
7. Eminem – Curtain Call: The Hits
8. SZA – SOS
9. Arctic Monkeys – AM
10. ABBA – Gold: Greatest Hits
The UK’s biggest singles of 2023
1. Miley Cyrus – Flowers
2. Dave and Central Cee – Sprinter
Raye and 070 Shake team up for “Escapism.”
4. Taylor Swift – Anti-Hero
5. Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding – Miracle
6. Rema – Calm Down
7. SZA – Kill Bill
8. PinkPantheress – Boy’s a Liar
9. Harry Styles – As It Was
10. Libianca – People
Source: theguardian.com
