A FEW WORDS CONTENTS FROM YOUR NEW 1-2 CHAIR INTRODUCTION AZI EFTEKHARI CHAIR ERA CHAIR 3-5 2020 ERA OVERVIEW Just about 25 years ago my first paid job found me standing Our guide in all this will remain the ERA Manifesto and the five behind the counter of an indie record store called Going For key challenges it outlined: A Song just next door to the old Astoria Theatre on London’s 1 Maintaining diversity 6-7 INNOVATION IN MUSIC Charing Cross Road. 2 Sustainability A lot has changed since then – both the shop and the theatre 3 Enabling licensing were reduced to rubble in the making of the new Crossrail 8-9 INNOVATION IN VIDEO line – and now I find myself taking on the job of representing 4 Modernising the supply chain hundreds of indie stores, a brace of music, video and games 5 Putting consumers and creators front and centre. specialists, supermarkets and digital services as Chair of ERA. Naturally ERA itself faces its own challenges and these will also 10-85 UK STATISTICS It’s a peculiar year to be taking on a new role. As my be top of mind - from helping our key revenue generator, the predecessor, James Morton, points out overleaf, the past 12 Official Charts Company, grow its international footprint to 11-17 Introduction months have shown the entertainment industry at its best but ensuring we embrace new platforms and digital services who 18-39 Games that success has come against the horrible background of the may develop a substantial UK footprint sometimes without 40-61 Video pandemic. having any staff on the ground here. 62-85 Music The prospects for the coming months are far from clear. I look forward to working closely with your CEO Kim Bayley and You can expect me, however, to accentuate the positive. her team on these and many other issues. 86-98 ERA MEMBER SERVICES Thanks more than anything to our members’ skillful embrace of What I won’t be doing in the short term is meeting many of you the possibilities of technology we find ourselves at an historic face to face. It looks like our diet of Teams, Skype, Zoom, Google high point for the entertainment business. Meet and Facetime will be with us for some time to come. 99 ERA CALENDAR That’s not to pretend You can be assured however that while my presence as your we don’t face chal- Chair may be virtual, my commitment to represent the UK’s lenges. The DCMS rich variety of digital services and retailers will be 100% actual! ERA 100-101 BOARD MEMBERS Select Committee Finally let me commend to you this latest edition of the ERA YEARBOOK enquiry into the Yearbook, for two decades now the definitive overview of the economics of mu- music, video and games markets. sic streaming has 102-103 ERA MEMBERS It paints a picture of a world which would have been simply in- 2021 highlighted some of credible to the 16 year old me with her Saturday job in a record the misconceptions store. There’s no doubt we’ve all come a long way and I for one about our business. 104 USEFUL ADDRESSES am very much looking forward to the next exciting chapter. We shall continue to 8989 counter them. Azi Azi Eftekhari became Chair of ERA on 15th March 2021, succeeding James Morton. She began her career in theatre production before switching to the music business and joining Universal Music as a press officer in its catalogue division, progessing to become Director Digital and Publicity at Universal’s Mercury Music Group. In 2012 she joined Google, spending eight years there, rising to Head of Label Relations (EMEA) for YouTube, most recently overseeing the launch of YouTube Music across Europe. In 2021 she co-founded a new company Remedy Inc focused on digital innovation, content creation and events. INTRODUCTION 2020 ERA OVERVIEW A FEW WORDS 2020 ERA FROM YOUR OVERVIEW OUTGOING CHAIR A YEAR LIKE NO OTHER After two and a half year as Chair of ERA and It required herculean efforts on all sides to keep INTRODUCTION renowned history of bringing people together nearly five years as a member of the Executive the content flowing, but flow it did, providing during times of hardship and is often a source Welcome to a new-look ERA yearbook which Board, my sadness at stepping away from the people with the diversion, support and escapism of comfort and escape. In 2020, ERA’s members reflects upon an extraordinary 12 months not just organisation is tempered by the current state of that we have all needed over the past year. moved mountains to deliver fans the music, video for ERA and its members, but for the UK and the entertainment retail. and games that they love and need - serving as a In one sense – and who would have credited it world. For an industry already worth £7.5bn in 2018 just 12 months ago – the entertainment industry beacon of light during some of the nation’s very This year the yearbook has undergone a to have grown a further 20% in just two years has arguably become a critical service. darkest times. makeover to breathe new life into our annual almost beggars belief, but that is just what it has Lockdown clearly played a part in the financial As I depart, I leave you in the capable hands of round-up of entertainment facts and figures. We done and you can read all about that mighty Azi Eftekhari. Having had the opportunity to success of the entertainment business in 2020 as JAMES MORTON have simplified the statistics sections so that all KIM BAYLEY achievement within the pages of this yearbook. fans flocked to fill their hours. But even lockdown work with Azi over the past years, I know that, tables can be found in one place and introduced CHIEF EXECUTIVE ERA is not enough to explain the scale of that success It is a performance built upon the accomplish- with her deep background both in content and a more comprehensive and high-level overview with revenues reaching a new high of over £9bn ments of an incredibly broad spectrum of people in digital services, she will bring a broad and rich of the market which can be found on pages 10-85 right across the entertainment value chain from perspective to the role. I wish her well. for the first time with the fastest annual growth Whilst 2020 was a year most of us would rather rate since records began. Of course Covid bass players, games developers and camera op- I would also like to pay tribute to the ERA team led forget, it proved the truth of the adage that crisis accelerated the drive to digital, but it was also erators to product managers, machine minders by Kim Bayley for all of their incredible work and is the best test of character. I am incredible proud due to the huge leaps made in the quality and and van drivers to name but a few. support over the past few years. ERA’s members of how ERA’s members – and the whole ERA variety of subscription video and music streaming Yet it is also a testament to the formidable efforts are truly fortunate to have such a knowledgeable team - rose to a challenge none of us have seen services and the enhancement of direct to of all of ERA’s members from small independents and committed group of people working for the likes of before. Entertainment has a long and console and mobile gaming services. to supermarkets and global streaming giants in them. High street retail also rose to the challenge - engaging the British public and delivering them Finally, and most importantly, my thanks go out ERA ERA despite national lockdowns and enforced store ERA the entertainment that they love. to all of ERA’s members. Thank you for allowing closures for months on end, many shops achieved YEARBOOK YEARBOOK Coronavirus and the accompanying lockdowns me the opportunity to represent you. It has been STREAMING YEARBOOK the seemingly impossible by reinventing their defined 2020 and whilst these were undeniably a privilege and an honour. businesses literally overnight, launching new the single biggest factor behind the surge in DRIVES mail-order websites and introducing curb-side revenues, the ability of streaming services and 2021 2021 pick-up and same day delivery. MARKET UP 2021 retailers to satisfy demand was by no means a foregone conclusion. It was not all good news for the entertainment 18% industry, however. Many of us have been 2 mourning the temporary loss of live music and 3 festivals as well as the blow of cinema closures all across the UK. We can only sympathise with our friends and partners across those sectors who are still navigating their way through this most difficult time and I wish all of them the speediest of recoveries REVIEW OF THE YEAR 2020 ERA OVERVIEW THINKING 100% THINK THINK 100% OF YOU THINK THINK OF OUR SHOPPERS DISTANCE SHOP OF OUR SHOPPERS WE’RE COMMITTED DISTANCE SHOP TO CLEANING SANITISE THEIR HANDS. SANITISE THEIR HANDS. There are simple things you can do to protect yourself, other customers and our staff from Coronavirus. THINK ALONE Every time you visit, please: THINK ALONE THINK CLEAN THINK CLEAN COW 2 METRES COW 2 METRES 2 METRES THINK DISTANCE. THINK CONTACTLESS. Always stay 2m apart. Pay with a card or phone. Our tills, doors and surfaces every 30 minutes. Please keep 2 metres apart It’s safer to shop alone if you can.