Innovation drove music and video streaming spending to nearly £4.5bn in 2021

01 March 2022 - Press release

UK consumers spent nearly £4.5bn on music and video streaming in 2021, up more than a fifth on 2020, the first year of the pandemic lockdown, according to official figures published by digital entertainment and retail association ERA today (Tuesday) in its annual yearbook, the definitive annual review of the UK music, video and games markets.

The streaming video on demand market which includes the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV  reached nearly £3.2bn, up 28.2% on the previous year, while music streaming services from the likes of Spotify, Apple, YouTube, Amazon and Deezer increased revenues by 10.9% to  £1.3bn. 

	2019	2020	2021	% change 2021 versus 2020
Streaming video on-demand	£      1,714.3	£      2,471.6	£      3,167.7	28.2%
Music streaming	£      1,045.8	£      1,199.8	£      1,330.7	10.9%
Total	£      2,760.1	£      3,671.4	£      4,498.4	22.5%

 

Key driver of the growth was innovation, says ERA CEO Kim Bayley. The ERA Yearbook lists more than 30 streaming service innovations launched in 2021, including:

• Amazon Music HD, a new high quality streaming tier;
• Rakuten TV's new ad-supported LEGO streaming channel;
• The extension of the availability of Disney+ to Xbox;
• The new Sky Glass television set;
• The addition of 4K Plus to YouTube TV.

"Streaming services have become the great drivers of the music and streaming businesses," said Kim Bayley. "Thanks to streaming services, UK film and music fans have access to a greater choice and greater convenience than ever before."