Women enjoy a record-breaking year in music in 2023

02 January 2024 - Press release

 

• Women spent a record-breaking 31 weeks at No.1 on the Official Singles Chart in 2023, their longest chart-topping run in a calendar year since the countdown launched in 1952. 

• Women were also behind a record seven of the Top 10 singles and more than half of the Top 20, led by Miley Cyrus’s Flowers and including such UK artists as Dua Lipa, Ellie Goulding, PinkPantheress & RAYE. 

• UK recorded music consumption in 2023 rose by a tenth (10%) to 182.8 million albums (or their equivalent), the ninth consecutive annual rise.

• The audio streaming market hit another record annual high of 179.6 billion streams, nearly double the total achieved in 2018.

• Vinyl LP sales grew at their fastest rate this decade with an 11.8% rise to 6.1 million units, their highest in more than 30 years, while the decline in CD slowed, and over 100,000 cassettes were purchased.

 

In what proved a landmark 12 months, women artists spent the most weeks at No.1 on the Official Singles Chart in a calendar year since the countdown launched in 1952. This is according to BPI analysis of Official Charts data. The BPI is the representative voice for the UK’s world leading record companies and labels. See notes for details.

Led by Miley Cyrus’s 10-week chart-topper Flowers, women secured a record-breaking 31 out of 52 weeks leading the Official Singles Chart in 2023. This was thanks to a mix of UK domestic successes including Dua Lipa (Dance The Night), Ellie Goulding (Miracle with Calvin Harris), Kenya Grace (Strangers) and RAYE (Escapism ft 070 Shake), and international artists such as Billie Eilish (What Was I Made For?), Doja Cat (Paint The Town Red), Olivia Rodrigo (Vampire) and Taylor Swift (Is It Over Now (Taylor’s Version)).

Based on combined streaming and sales activity, four of 2023’s five biggest tracks and seven of the year’s Top 10 were by women, with Miley Cyrus’s Flowers at No.1 for the year joined by hits from fellow US superstars SZA (Kill Bill) and Taylor Swift (Anti-Hero), Cameroonian-American singer Libianca (People) and UK artists Ellie Goulding (Miracle with Calvin Harris), PinkPantheress (Boy’s A Liar) and RAYE (Escapism ft 070 Shake).  It marked the greatest domination of a year-end Top 10 by women in more than 70 years of the Official Singles Chart.

Dr Jo Twist OBE, BPI Chief Executive, said:

“Whilst work continues towards achieving full representation for women across the music industry, 2023 has been a brilliant year for women in the Official Charts. There is a more diverse range of recording artists than ever achieving great success with the backing of their labels. Women spent more weeks at No.1 on the Official Singles Chart than in any previous year, while seven of the ten biggest tracks were by women. This should be celebrated, but without complacency, and our work in the music industry continues to ensure that this becomes the norm.”

WOMEN CLAIM SEVEN OF TOP TEN ON OFFICIAL SINGLES CHART 2023 – © Official Charts Company

Pos.      Artist & Title          

1.   Miley Cyrus – Flowers                                               

2.   Dave & Central Cee – Sprinter                                 

3.   RAYE ft 070 Shake – Escapism                                 

4.   Taylor Swift –  Anti-Hero                                          

5.   Calvin Harris & 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                  

 

Thirteen of the year’s Top 20 tracks were by women, including UK artists Dua Lipa (Dance The Night), Ella Henderson(React with Switch Disco), PinkPantheress (Boy’s A Liar) and Venbee (Messy In Heaven with Goddard), alongside global stars including SZA (Kill Bill), Bebe Rexha (I’m Good (Blue) with David Guetta, Libianca (People), Olivia Rodrigo(Vampire) and Taylor Swift (Anti-Hero and Cruel Summer). 

In addition, nearly half (48.5%) of the tracks that reached the Top 10 of the weekly Official Singles Chart last year were by women, either solo or in collaboration with other artists. This represented their highest annual share of Top 10 hits this century. As a reflection of this dominance, solo women artists claimed the top three positions for a record-breaking six consecutive weeks on the Official Singles Chart during August and September last year.

A record number of streams fuelled market growth in 2023, as streaming now accounts for 87.7% of the market 

The UK’s streaming market hit another record high in 2023 with 179.6 billion audio streams accumulated across the 12 months. This was up 12.8% on the previous year and nearly double the total achieved five years earlier. Streaming now makes up 87.7% of the market, compared to 63.6% in 2018. This led a ninth consecutive annual rise in UK recorded music consumption overall, with sales and streams combined increasing by 10.0% to 182.8 million albums (or their equivalent) in 2023.

The continuing rise in streaming numbers prompted the BPI – which is also behind the BRIT Certified Platinum, Gold & Silver Awards – to introduce the BRIT Billion Award in 2023, recognising artists who have achieved more than one billion career streams in the UK alone. To date, nearly 30 artists have been honoured, including Ed Sheeran with 10 billion UK streams, The Rolling Stones and Queen as well as other British artists such as AJ Tracey, Becky Hill, Coldplay, RAYE, Rita Ora and Sam Smith. With a significant number of artists surpassing the one billion threshold, success in streaming is now measured in the tens and hundreds of millions a year, if not more, and thousands are attaining this level of success and the rewards and career progression that comes with it.

The Weeknd has the year’s biggest album

The Weeknd’s retrospective The Highlights was the year’s top album, while Taylor Swift’s Midnights claimed runners-up spot in 2023. Her 2023 release 1989 (Taylor’s Version) was the year’s third biggest album. Elton John’s Diamonds, which was first released in 2017, ranked at No.4 with its sales and streams boosted by a farewell tour whose closing UK date was on the Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury Festival.  Harry Styles’ Harry’s House secured fifth place.

The Barbie album soundtrack was the year’s top compilation and included chart-toppers by Billie Eilish and Dua Lipa, as well as the Top 10 hits Speed Drive by Charli XCX and Barbie World by Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice ft Aqua.

Miley Cyrus’s Flowers is the year’s biggest hit with 198 million streams

Flowers by Miley Cyrus was one of 11 tracks to accumulate more than 100 million audio and video streams in the UK in 2023, with hits by Dave & Central Cee (the 10-week chart-topper Sprinter), RAYE ft 070 Shake (Escapism), Rema (Calm Down), Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding (Miracle), SZA (Kill Bill), PinkPantheress (Boy’s A Liar), Taylor Swift (Anti-Hero), Libianca (People), Harry Styles (As It Was) and Miguel (Sure Thing) also reaching nine figures. 

They led a market in which a record-breaking 2,519 tracks accumulated at least 10 million audio and video streams in the year, compared to 1,136 tracks having reached the same total in 2018.

Supported by record label investment and development, there were a number of other notable UK successes among the year’s Top 100 singles. These included global stars Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Elton John and Sam Smith, pop artists such asAnne-Marie, Ella Henderson, Kenya Grace, Lewis Capaldi and Mimi Webb, hip-hop/rap acts including D-Block Europe, J Hus and Strandz, R&B artist Jorja Smith and dance talent including Becky Hill, Chase & Status, Eliza Rose, Rudimental, Switch Disco and Venbee. Wham’s festive classic Last Christmas finished in the year’s Top 20 having topped the Christmas Official Singles Chart for the first time. The year also saw the remarkable return of The Beatles to the top of the Official Singles Chart for the first time since 1969 with Now and Then, which was created around a John Lennon demo from the 1970s and billed as the group’s last ever song.

Double-digit percentage rise of vinyl LP sales as CDs decline significantly slowed

Vinyl LP sales increased for the 16^th consecutive year in 2023, growing at their fastest rate this decade with an 11.8% rise to 6.1 million units. This took them to their highest level since 1990 when releases by Phil Collins, Elton John and Madonna were among the year’s biggest sellers.

Continuing a trend in which new titles rather than catalogue have led the market, seven of the year’s ten most popular vinyl LPs were released in 2023, led by 1989 (Taylor’s Version) and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) by Taylor Swift, The Rolling Stones’ Hackney Diamonds, Did You Know There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd by Lana Del Rey and The Ballad Of Darrenby Blur. 

While sales of Compact Discs continued to fall, their annual rate of decline slowed to its lowest level since 2015, dropping by 6.9% to 10.8 million units. This Life by Take That was the year’s top title with just over 127,000 units sold.

Cassettes surpassed six figures annually for the fourth consecutive year, reaching around 136,000 units with top seller Gutsby Olivia Rodrigo having shifted nearly 8,500 copies on the format during its first week of release in September.

Physical claims dominant sales share of nearly 80% of albums debuting at No.1

While streaming comfortably comprised more than four-fifths of the overall recorded music market last year, physical continued to dominate the top of the Official Albums Chart. Out of the 44 albums that debuted at No.1, 86% of them had more than half their chart-eligible sales made up of physical sales. In 35 weeks physical was behind more than 70% of chart-eligible sales of the week’s top album, led by The Courteeneers’ St Jude (97.5%), This Life by Take That (97.1%), Theatre Of The Absurd Presents C’est La Vie by Madness (91.0%), The Ballad Of Darren by Blur (89.6%) and Hackney Diamondsby The Rolling Stones (89.5%). Digital album sales dropped by 4.6% to 3.5 million units with the year’s best sellers including Trustfall by P!nk, But Here We Are by Foo Fighters and Endless Summer Vacation by Miley Cyrus.