Dua Lipa Among The Female Artists Driving Sales Boom In UK
Dua Lipa, Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift are among the artists who have made 2023 a record-breaking year for female musicians.
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The British Phonographic Industry (BPI), which represents the UK’s record companies and labels, said that music fans in the UK bought 182.8mn albums, or their equivalent in streaming, last year, the ninth consecutive annual rise for the industry. Streaming hit a record high with 179.6bn audio streams across 12 months – up 12.8% on the previous year, and almost double that of 2018.
Driving the growth over the past 12 months has been the success of female artists in particular, with women spending a record-breaking 31 weeks at the top of the UK singles charts in 2023. This is the highest figure since the countdown launched in 1952. Miley Cyrus led the way with Flowers which stayed 10 weeks at the top of the charts, calculated by a combination of streaming and retail sales.
Dua Lipa had a strong 2023, with her comeback single – Dance The Night, from the Barbie soundtrack – hitting No 1 and bagging an Oscar nomination. The coming year looks set to be even more successful for Lipa, with her eagerly anticipated new album on the way.
BPI’s chief executive Dr Jo Twist said in a statement: “While 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 10 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.”