“Official figures released by UK record labels association the BPI … show that Classical music sales and streams struck a chord with UK consumers in 2018, leaping by more than a tenth (10.2%) on the previous 12 months,” reads an unsigned Saturday (1/12) article at bpi.co.uk. “The rise in demand for classical music in 2018 was driven by a 6.9 per cent jump in sales of CD albums, which still account for nearly 60 per cent of UK classical consumption…. Streams of Classical music also showed significant growth in 2018, up 42 per cent…. Downloads were the only format where demand fell in 2018…. Teen sensation [cellist] Sheku Kanneh-Mason’s … debut album Inspiration spent 14 weeks topping the Official Classical Album Chart…. Composer and pianist Alexis Ffrench [saw] his album Evolution hold the No.1 Classical Album spot for three weeks…. Other best-selling specialist titles included Yo-Yo Ma’s continuing exploration of Bach’s Cello Suites…. Ludovico Einaudi was by some distance the leading Classical artist on streaming services, accounting for 8.6 per cent of all classical plays…. An important contributor to Classical’s market share in 2018” was film music by composers including John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Howard Shore, Ramin Djawdi, and James Horner.
Posted January 16, 2019
