The UK streamed a massive 3.7 billion songs during the course of 2012, new figures show.
The figure represents a 40% year-on-year rise and is, as the Official Charts Company points out, equivalent to the total number of singles sold in the UK during the past 60 years.
“Digital retailers and service providers are leading a revolution in the entertainment business,” ERA director general Kim Bayley has said.
“Building on the success of download stores, streaming services are changing the music landscape. Just a couple of months ago the Official Charts Company was celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Official Singles Chart and calculated that 3.7bn was the number of singles sold in the UK since 1952.”
“Now we discover that is also the number of music streams served in the UK by ERA members during 2012. That is extraordinary.”
Results also show the digital market in general continued its relentless growth last year, with music downloads increasing to the tune of 7.7%, digital video games by 15.1% and digital videos by 20.3% according to the ERA Yearbook.
