New music and artists dominated 2022’s streaming services, says BPI

New music and artists dominated the UK’s streaming services in 2022, with nearly three-quarters of the year’s top 100 most-streamed hits coming from this decade.

According to new analysis from the BPI, the British record industry’s trade association, music released in the 2020s – such as Harry Styles’ album As It Was – made up 72% of the 100 most-streamed acts in 2022.

Meanwhile, more than 60% of streams in 2022 came from tracks released during the last 10 years.

This is despite the perception that streaming consumption is made up of older songs, such as Kate Bush’s 1985 hit Running Up That Hill – which topped the charts again in 2022 after featuring in the season finale of Netflix’s Stranger Things.

The rise of streaming and songs going viral on TikTok has also led to a few other slowburn hits.

Indeed, music from the 20th century made up just a fifth of 2022’s streams, while under 5% of streams were for tracks from the 1970s and only 2.6% for 1960s releases.

Originally released in 2019, Chris Brown’s Under The Influence reached number seven on the UK’s Official Singles Chart after going viral last year.

Sophie Jones, BPI chief strategy officer and interim chief executive, said that their analysis showed that new releases make up the “vast majority” of what people are listening to.

“As Kate Bush’s inspiring chart-topping comeback last year highlighted, consumers can now access the entire history of recorded music via streaming services,” she said.

“However, while this is feeding an appetite for music from the past, contrary to some perceptions, it is still new releases that make up the vast majority of what we listen to.

“This creates the space for new talent to break through and – supported by their record labels – connect with fans in a hyper-competitive streaming landscape.”

The analysis can be found in BPI’s yearbook, which is free for the trade association’s members, but can also be purchased online.