years of decline,” agrees Wood. “We’re getting a market now where we have a number of streaming services that each service diff erent consumer segments and off er something slightly diff erent.” Wood highlights the surge in older demographics getting an Alexa device in their Christmas stockings as proof that the streaming revolution is a long way off running out of steam. So can we, like Trump, contemplate an unlikely four more years? “I couldn’t say defi nitively that would be the case but it does feel like we’re in a healthy position,” says Allen. “I would hope that the growth levels we’re seeing at the moment could carry on, certainly in the near future.” Alright then, we’ll say it: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

TALENT In a year relatively bereft of superstar attractions, it’s oddly fi tting that the biggest-selling album was the soundtrack to a movie about a search for superstar attractions. Even Warner Music’s expectations for The Greatest Showman (Atlantic) were fairly modest Fire and ice: Drake had another initially, but it sold an incredible 1,621,905 copies in 2018, big year on albums and tracks according to the Offi cial Charts Company, more than double its nearest competitor, George Ezra’s Staying At Tamara’s (Columbia), with 691,332. Commercial Group), which ended up at No.11. Universal did not have anything that sold on that “Undoubtedly, we didn’t have the wealth of releases that we had in 2017,” scale, yet still provided fi ve of the Top 10 biggest says Charles Wood. “But we set the bar with George Ezra and, tracks-wise, sellers. Another soundtrack, Mamma Mia! Here We Go with Calvin Harris. Staying At Tamara’s is a record with great singles and a Again (Polydor), topped its charts with 374,476 and very, very likeable artist who appeals to my eight-year-old and my mother. In was joined in the top tier by Drake’s Scorpion (Cash a market where there are fewer buyers of records, you need that breadth of Money/Republic/Island, 300,100 sales), Post Malone’s appeal. It’s harder to do it in a niche now.” Beerbongs & Bentleys (Republic/Island, 281,644), the A Sony fared better on the singles chart, with One Kiss (Columbia/Warner Star Is Born soundtrack (Interscope/Polydor, 271,635) Bros, 1,573,239 sales), Harris’ duet with Dua Lipa, the year’s No.1. Ezra’s and Eminem’s Kamikaze (Interscope/Polydor, 232,420). Shotgun and Paradise also made the Top 10. And, while that might make it look like hip-hop and Universal provided the year’s singles runner-up with Drake’s God’s Plan soundtracks were where it was at, David Hawkes hails (Cash Money/Republic/Island, 1,565,964), while the rapper’s Nice For What the major’s “strength in depth”. and Ariana Grande’s No Tears Left To Cry (Republic/Island) also hit the Top 10. “There’s a really good mix of product actually if you As well as Dua Lipa, meanwhile, Warner provided four more of the Top 10: go outside the Top 10,” he says. “In the Top 20 we have a The Greatest Showman’s This Is Me (Atlantic); These Days (Asylum/Atlantic) good share but, as you go down and look at our share of by Rudimental, Jess Glynne & Macklemore; Perfect (Asylum/Atlantic) by Ed titles in the Top 40, 60, 100, Universal’s really punching Sheeran; and Portugal The Man’s sleeper hit Feel It Still (Atlantic). above its weight. “In a market where Warner also scored the only debut 2018 album by a UK artist in the Top “Universal very rarely relies on one runaway hit,” there are fewer 100, Anne-Marie’s Speak Your Mind (Asylum/Atlantic), at No.26 for the year, he adds. “It’s generally strength in depth. Urban and with 164,865 sales. The next highest was Jorja Smith’s Lost & Found (Famm), soundtracks have done well, but look at what Decca have buyers of albums, at No.107. achieved with Rod Stewart and Andrea Bocelli.” you need breadth “We’ve seen these peaks and troughs in the past where you have dips in terms of breaking new artists,” says Allen. “But, over the last three or four Warner, meanwhile, has become the home of the of appeal” runaway hit album, with The Greatest Showman joined in the Top 10 sellers by Sheeran’s ÷ (Asylum/Atlantic, another 510,305 copies sold, presumably to people who CHARLES WOOD spent 2017 living on the bloody moon), Michael Bublé’s SONY MUSIC Love (Reprise/Warner Bros, 263,538) and Dua Lipa’s Dua Lipa (Warner Bros, 251,280). “It’s fair to say that The Greatest Showman MUSIC WEEK’S METHODOLOGY out-performed expectations,” says Derek Allen, drily. In order to provide the most comprehensive “The bit that we have done well is to keep that train possible picture of the UK music market, Music Week and the Offi cial Charts Company use the going all the way through the year. It blasted out of the AES (Album Equivalent Sales) metric as our blocks and then we realised we had something we would headline measurement. This shows the share of the total, identifi able recorded music market, try and keep going – and we took it back to No.1 at the encompassing sales and streams of all recorded end of the year against some fairly stiff competition from music consumption, and is available in versions the other majors.” that both include and exclude compilation albums. Our fi gures for the albums market also include Some canny Q4 marketing, as well as Sing-A-Long budget albums. and Reimagined versions boosted sales, with Warner Staying power: George Ezra scored targeting the Christmas No.1 from as far back as the the No.1 artist album of 2019 middle of the year. “It’s not the easiest thing to do with a project,” says SALES STATISTICS 2018 Allen. “Longevity is the tough part now. It’s a relatively SALES PERIOD AUDIO STREAMS (SEA*) SINGLES (TEA**) DIGITAL ALBUMS PHYSICAL ALBUMS TOTAL (AES***) well-trodden path to crash an album into the charts high; the diffi cult bit is keeping it there and getting that 2018 90.9M 5.5M 10.2M 36.2M 142.9M sustained level of sales over a long period. We’ve been 2017 68.1M 7.4M 13.8M 45.8M 135.1M quite good at that recently.” % CHANGE +33.50% -25.70% -26.30% -20.80% +5.70% Sony had a stellar 2017 but found 2018 much harder * STREAMING EQUIVALENT ALBUMS ** TRACK EQUIVALENT ALBUMS *** ALBUM EQUIVALENT SALES territory, with Ezra its only Top 10 album, although it also SOURCE: BPI has a share in Take That’s album Odyssey (Polydor/Sony

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