Label investment through A&R is driving success for new UK artists

A&R and marketing spend represented 39% of label revenues last year

Labels A&R spending grew nearly 2 and-a-half times faster than their revenue over the past 5 years

A&R spend was 106.6% more in 2021 than 2016 pic.twitter.com/NO7mGHMBo8

— BPI (@bpi_music) August 11, 2022

106.6% more money was spent on A&R in 2021 than it was in 2016 (£173.3 million), which includes artist advances, the cost of new recordings, video production, and tour support. UK labels’ total revenue income climbed by 42.9% over the same five-year period to 2021, mostly due to a 51.3% increase in streaming revenue. This indicates that labels’ A&R investment accounted for 28.4% of their overall revenues and that labels’ A&R spending increased at a rate that was roughly 2.5 times faster than their revenue growth.

The BPI states that “The almost half a billion pound annual investment record labels make in A&R and artist marketing is crucial in enabling them to discover, sign, develop and break new artists, create new music, fund and provide artistic and creative support and direction, organise tour support and provide other supporting services such as marketing, promotion and PR.”

They go on to say that the investment has been crucial “in developing the international careers of British talent such as Arlo Parks, Dua Lipa, George Ezra, Glass Animals, Griff, Joel Corry, Joy Crookes, Lewis Capaldi, Mabel, PinkPantheress, Rag’n’Bone Man, Sam Fender, Tom Grennan and Wolf Alice, to name just a few”. Making the UK number two in the world in music export after the US.

According to a BPI review of data from Luminate, over 120 UK musicians with debut albums released after 2015 earned more than 100 million global audio streams last year. They go on to state that “This represents nearly one-third of all the artists from the UK who attained this level of streaming success in 2021”. Geoff Taylor, Chief Executive BPI, BRIT Awards & Mercury Prize, summed it all up in a statement released on the BPI website:

“The UK has been one of the world’s music superpowers since the advent of pop culture, thanks to the combination of our many incredible artists drawn from all regions and nations, and the passion, financial backing and expertise of our record labels. During a time when music has returned to growth after years of decline, labels have continued to prioritise investment in artists. Spending on A&R reached a record £358 million last year and is significantly outpacing revenue increases. It is fuelling success for a new generation of UK artists who are embracing the opportunities of this truly connected world, underpinning our leading position on the global music stage.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Elton John (@eltonjohn)

The talented pianist celebrated his birthday on 25th March whilst on the road for his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour. Sir John has spoken on the personal importance which his Birthday held, “I’m not usually one to look back or get nostalgic, but 75 is such a milestone birthday. I’ll definitely find time today to take stock and thank my lucky stars for my wonderful family, friends and career. I feel unbelievably lucky that at 75 I still love what i do so much – I’m still so energised about music and excited I get to play, listen and talk about this every single day. Being back on the road is a blast and the thrill of playing live is as amazing as it was 50 years ago. I have so much to pass on to the new generation of fans and artists alike, and I’m determined to keep giving back to the industry that has given me so much.”

Consisting of the singer’s most popular singles, the forty-eight-track album celebrates Sir John’s long and influential career. The album charts the musician’s storied discography spanning between 1970-2016 and includes such hit singles as “Tiny Dancer”, “Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word” and “I’m Still Standing”. The newly re-worked release also includes “Your Song”, known as Sir John’s breakthrough song, the single was released in 1970 and taken from the singer’s second studio album.

The greatest hits album was originally released in 2017 on CD and Vinyl and was also released to celebrate a milestone, the compilation was produced to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Sir John’s musical partnership with Bernie Taupin. The talented duo have been working together since 1967, the pair have been named the most successful creative partnership within the entertainment industry and were inducted into the Songwriters hall of Fame in 1992. Sir John and Taupin have accumulated a lengthy back catalogue including such hits as “Bernie and the Jets”, “Candle in the Wind”, “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” and “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”.

The music icon is known for more than his musical talent; Sir John is heralded for his extensive charity and philanthropy work, most notably The Elton John AIDS Foundation. The non-profit organisation was established by the musician in 1992 and 1993. The foundation has remained at the forefront within HIV and AIDS support programmes, providing education, prevention and aid in over fifty-five countries.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Elton John AIDS Foundation (@ejaf)

This year the foundation will also celebrate an anniversary; the 30th annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party will be taking place on 27th March 2022. Although Sir John will not be able to attend in person, the hitmaker will be joining the event via live satellite from his performance in Nebraska. The foundation’s website provides the following statement concerning the event, “Since we last saw one another, the Foundation has been hard at work in the most vulnerable communities around the world. With 2022 marking the 30th anniversary of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, we’ll be making up for lost time with a sparkling and unforgettable evening.”

Click here to stream Diamonds: The Ultimate Greatest Hits.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Deezer (@deezer)

Deezer’s Global VP of Artist Relations, Nigel Harding as provided the following statement concerning the revelation, “It’s fantastic to see so many homegrown artists like Ed Sheeran and Dua Lipa continue to shine both internationally and here in the UK. What really stands out is the enduring appeal of older material. The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’ and Tones and I’s ‘Dance Monkey’, both continue to dominate the charts more than 18 months after release. And it’s remarkable that Eminem remains as popular now as he was two decades ago”

The category of the top artist has been awarded to British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. The “Shivers” singer topped the list as the number one streamed artist.  Second and third places were taken by American rapper Eminem and The Weeknd. Following the pair was Dua Lipa, the British hitmaker who came in fourth as the service’s most-streamed artist. Fellow British act, Little Mix, also placed within the top 10 and closed off the list.

Dua Lipa not only charted within the top artist list but was also crowned as the top female artist within the streaming service. The “Don’t Start Now” singer beat out big names such as Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande to be the most streamed female artist. Little Mix also made an appearance within the top five and was announced as the fourth most female act streamed in 2021. The “Shout Out To My Ex” girl group also beat out American artists to reach the high position, Lady Gaga, Billie Elish and Rihanna charted behind Little Mix in streams.

Within the category for Top Track, Canadian artist The Weeknd won with his 2019 track “Blinding Lights”. The number one single was released from the 31-year-old singer’s fourth studio album After Hours. “Dance Money” by Tones and I placed in second place and was followed by “Bad Habits” by Ed Sheeran which charted at number three. British singer Harry Styles closed the top ten list with his single “Watermelon Sugar”.

The most streamed album was awarded to Olivia Rodrigo for her debut album Sour. The Weeknd also featured within this list, the singer’s double-platinum album After Hours followed in second place. Ed Sheeran’s 2021 album Divide was confirmed as the third most-streamed album within Deezer.

The platform awarded Ed Sheeran with another win; the singer won the Top Karaoke Song award with his number one single “Bad Habits”. Eurovision winners Måneskin filled both the second and third positions, the Italian rockers closed the top three with tracks “Beggin” and “I Wanna Be Your Slave”. American rapper Lil Nas X also charted twice in the category, “Industry Baby” landed at number six and “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” placed at number ten.

The announcement also consisted of further categories including Top Playlist, Top Deezer Originals song and Top Podcast. To accompany the list of the service’s most listened to content Deezer has also created a Best of 2021 channel for its users to enjoy.

The deal promises “a truly next-generation music service” as they plan to offer a combined streaming and immersive live music service. Ultimately the intention is to bring together Napster’s library of more than 90 million tracks with MelodyVR’s catalogue of live performances.

View this post on Instagram

“I spent two days in the studio and nothing was really happening. In the end, I sat down on the piano, played these three chords and I wrote a little song. The song that changed my life.” Can you guess which tune @mabel is referring to? Watch her performance in 360° video on our app to find out

A post shared by MelodyVR (@melodyvirtual) on Jul 21, 2020 at 8:15am PDT

MelodyVR say, “It’s incredibly exciting to be unifying complementary platforms and fantastic audiences, rooted in a love of music and a deep desire to offer the very best experience to artists, fans, the wider music community and brands.”

Recently, MelodyVR hosted ‘Wireless Connect’, a virtual, ‘360°’ version of the well-loved urban music festival. Their live performance credits range from Nelly, in the series ‘Live from LA’, to Panic! At the Disco at the London O2 Academy. Coming up, live music fans can enjoy a new collaboration with London’s iconic venue, Brixton Academy.

The way MelodyVR works is that it established safe studios in London and LA for these socially distanced gigs, and fans then paid to watch on their app, using VR headsets. You can even select where you’re ‘standing’ in the crowd.

Napster has had a complicated history. In the 1990s it was an illegal downloading platform, but lawsuits from the likes of Dr Dre and Metallica ensured that it filed for bankruptcy in 2002. Since then, it has been owned by Roxio, the electronics company Best Buy and most recently, the streaming service Rhapsody.

CEO of MelodyVR, Anthony Matchett, says that “For music fans today, live and recorded music are intrinsically linked. We are as keen to see our favourite artists perform live as we are to listen to their albums. Our purchase of Napster, one of the music industry’s original disruptors, is born out of our wish to deliver the world’s foremost music experience, available seamlessly across audio and visual media and in turn presenting a truly next-generation music service.”

The CEO of Napster, Bill Patrizio, had this to add: “This is a tremendous outcome for two organizations with complementary platforms and loyal audiences, and we could not be more excited to be moving forward as one company.”

MelodyVR sees this as an opportunity for greater connection between fans and artists in the future. Additionally, they expect to share more and more of what goes on behind the scenes and what it’s like to be an artist, therefore opening the music world up to music lovers from the comfort of their own homes.