Streaming access services claimed quarter of entertainment retail in 2013
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Subscription streaming services such as Spotify and Deezer claimed a quarter of the entertainment market last year according to ERA’s 2014 Yearbook.
Meanwhile, the number of physical stores stocking music reached an all-time high, with independent retailers ‘particularly thriving’, according to the association.
In 2013, 74% of entertainment revenues were accounted for by ownership, while streaming services contributed 26%.
ERA’s report takes into account film and video games alongside music, so the likes of Netflix and Lovefilm are included under the access umbrella.
Internet services (including home delivery alongside digital) accounted for 60% of sales in the £5.3bn entertainment market, with physical contributing 40% of revenues.
Overall, physical claimed 56.6% of market values compared to digital’s 43.4%.
In 2013 physical stores accounted for £2.12bn in sales, down 8% on 2012, while online sales – the combination of physical sales by internet-based home delivery services like Amazon and digital services – reached £3.18bn, up 13.9%.
Meanwhile the number of independent stores in the UK is still 12% down on 2008 at 296, but independent stores have increased their share of the physical album market from 2.4% to 4.5%. Sales of vinyl albums through indie stores have increased from just 75,700 in 2008 to 368,300 in 2013.
ERA director general Kim Bayley said, “This is stark evidence of the revolution in entertainment consumption being driven by entertainment retailers. The fact that 60p in the entertainment pound is now spent online and 26p in the pound is for access to content rather than ownership is a testament to the huge investment and technological ingenuity of retailers in providing consumers with new ways to enjoy the music, video and games they love.”
Spencer Hickman, coordinator of Record Store Day, said, “2013 was another great year for independent record shops, suggesting that contrary to earlier fears, in the age of downloads and streaming, physical formats and vinyl in particular are still as relevant as ever.”
Mark Foster, MD of Deezer UK & Ireland, said, “We are witnessing nothing less than a revolution in the way that people search for and discover entertainment. Streaming services like Deezer allow music fans to access effectively the entire catalogue of popular music whenever they want it on whichever device they want it – and all for a monthly fee less than the price of an album.”
Source: Music Week
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