Streaming Boom Helps Entertainment Outstrip The Printed Word

STREAMING BOOM HELPS ENTERTAINMENT OUTSTRIP THE PRINTED WORD

SPENDING ON MUSIC, VIDEO AND GAMES OVERTAKES BOOKS, MAGAZINES AND NEWSPAPERS FOR THE FIRST TIME

[and Ed Sheeran’s Divide outsells every other album, game and video!]

 

1 March 2018: The British public spent more money on music, video and games in 2017 than on books, magazines and newspapers, according to official figures published for the first time in the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) Yearbook out today.

It is the first time in history that revenues from entertainment exceeded those of the printed word.

The key driver is the dramatic growth of digital services from the likes of Spotify, Steam, Netflix, Amazon, Deezer, Sky, Apple and Google.

According to research prepared for ERA by the Leisure Industries Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University, Britons spent £7.2bn on music, video and games in 2017 compared with £7.1bn on books, magazines and newspapers.

While entertainment sales reached an all-time-high for the third year in succession, spending on the printed word was stagnant and substantially down on its 2007 peak of £8.3bn.

“It is an extraordinary testament to the appeal and resonance of digital entertainment services that they have helped home entertainment to hit this milestone nearly 550 years since the invention of the printing press,” said ERA CEO Kim Bayley.

2017 was a banner year for the entertainment industry with revenues reaching £7.24bn, up 8.8% on 2016. That 8.8% growth rate exceeded that of virtually every sector monitored by the Leisure Industries Research Centre including Eating Out (up 7.7%), Alcoholic Drink (up 6%), Holidays Overseas (up 4.4%) and Gambling (up 1%). Total leisure spending was up 5.2%.

Dr Themis Kokolakakis from the Leisure Industries Research Centre said, “The 2008-2009 recession hurt both the entertainment and reading markets. Since 2012, the entertainment market has recovered very strongly producing record 2017 results. Traditional media is under pressure, partly because of the growth of streaming services, partly because there is so much competition for people’s time and attention. Entertainment has grown while reading has stagnated.”

Said Bayley, “The success of the UK entertainment market is ultimately the result of collaboration between the creatives, studios and labels who produce compelling content and the retailers and services who bring it to the public.”

 

* * *

 

Elsewhere in the ERA Yearbook, figures show the dramatic change in the make-up of the entertainment business. Five years ago more than 80% of revenues were generated by buy-to-own formats such as discs or downloads. In 2017 56% of revenues came from so-called access models like music and video streaming, electronic movie rental or subscriptions to online multiplayer games, paying for digital micro-transactions and making in-app purchases on mobile devices.

Kim Bayley said, “The success of the entertainment business is a testament to the power of innovation, creating new ways for people to enjoy the music, video and games they love.”

While the Yearbook tracks the continuing growth in digital, two physical formats showed notable growth:

  • Boxed software for consoles like the new Nintendo Switch and Playstation 4 which generated their first growth in 10 years – up 5% to £750m;
  • Vinyl albums which continued their long-term revival with sales up 34% to reach £87.7m.

Said Kim Bayley, “Digital services may be grabbing the headlines, but physical retailers continue to identify new opportunities to showcase and drive sales of discs. Vinyl is a prime example of retailers nurturing demand for a product most people had long written off.  It would be foolish to underestimate the consumers continuing affection for physical product.”

 

* * *

 

The ERA Yearbook also includes the 2017 ERA Entertainment Chart, combining data on both digital and physical sales of music, video and games.

It reveals that Ed Sheeran’s album Divide was the best-selling music, video or games title in the UK in 2017, achieving sales of 2,702,839 albums.

In 2017 33 music, video or games titles sold over half a million units. Of these, 10 sold over 1m units and three over 2m. Of the Top 40 biggest sellers, seven were music albums, 10 were videogames and 23 were videos, led by a trio of titles from Walt Disney Studios – Beauty & The Beast, Rogue One – A Star Wars Story and Moana.

ERA CEO Kim Bayley said, “We all knew that Divide was huge, but now we can see it was more than twice as big as Moana and more than three times the success of Trolls. Many congratulations to Ed and all the people who helped make it such a success.”

 

ERA Entertainment Chart 2017

Position

Category

Title

Artist

Company

Units sold

1

Albums

Divide

Ed Sheeran

Warner Music

2,702,839

2

Videogames

FIFA 18

 

Electronic Arts

2,696,721

3

Videogames

Call Of Duty: WWII

 

Activision Blizzard

2,442,416

4

Video

Beauty And The Beast (2017)

 

Walt Disney Studios

1,484,565

5

Video

Rogue One - A Star Wars Story

 

Walt Disney Studios

1,380,402

6

Video

Moana

 

Walt Disney Studios

1,293,787

7

Video

Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them

 

Walt Disney Studios

1,279,850

8

Videogames

Grand Theft Auto V

 

Take 2

1,080,022

9

Video

Bridget Jones's Baby

 

Universal Pictures

1,052,753

10

Albums

Human

Rag'n'Bone Man

Sony Music

1,001,913

11

Video

Guardians Of The Galaxy - Vol 2

 

Walt Disney Studios

873,825

12

Video

Trolls

 

20th Century Fox HE

872,586

13

Video

Sing

 

Universal Pictures

805,342

14

Video

Dunkirk

 

Warner Home Video

753,429

15

Videogames

Assassin's Creed Origins

 

Ubisoft

679,965

16

Videogames

Destiny 2

 

Activision Blizzard

673,551

17

Videogames

Star Wars Battlefront II

 

Electronic Arts

658,814

18

Videogames

Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy

 

Activision Blizzard

651,354

19

Video

Despicable Me 3

 

Universal Pictures

631,748

20

Video

Logan

 

20th Century Fox HE

614,631

21

Video

Doctor Strange

 

Walt Disney Studios

612,745

22

Albums

Now That's What I Call Music 96

Various Artists

Sony Music/Universal Music

601,906

23

Albums

Now That's What I Call Music 97

Various Artists

Sony Music/Universal Music

595,547

24

Video

Wonder Woman

 

Warner Home Video

591,316

25

Videogames

Tom Clancey's Ghost Recon: Wildlands

 

UBISOFT

574,889

26

Albums

Now That's What I Call Music 96

Various Artists

Sony Music/Universal Music

560,286

27

Video

Spider-Man - Homecoming

 

Sony Pictures

551,227

28

Video

Pirates Of The Caribbean - Salazars

 

Walt Disney Studios

538,735

29

Video

The Girl On The Train

 

20th Century Fox HE

525,996

30

Video

La La Land

 

Elevation Sales

525,342

31

Albums

The Thrill Of It All

Sam Smith

Universal Music

501,952

32

Video

The Boss Baby

 

20th Century Fox HE

501,453

33

Video

Fast & Furious 8

 

Universal Pictures

500,617

34

Video

The Lego Batman Movie

 

Warner Home Video

494,446

35

Videogames

Gran Turismo: Sport

 

Sony Computer Ent.

484,933

36

Albums

Glory Days

Little Mix

Sony Music

468,173

37

Video

Fifty Shades Darker

 

Universal Pictures

466,119

38

Video

Hacksaw Ridge

 

Elevation Sales

465,138

39

Videogames

Horizon Zero Dawn

 

Sony Computer Ent.

456,374

40

Video

War For The Planet Of The Apes

 

20th Century Fox HE

435,440

           

Music: Official Charts Company - Includes all physical formats, digital download albums and album equivalent streams

Music

Video: Official Charts Company - Includes all physical formats, electronic sell-through (film titles only)

Video

Games: GFK - physical formats / ISFE GSD - digital downloads

Games

 

ENDS

 

ERA CEO Kim Bayley is available for interview.

For more information please contact Steve Redmond steve@eraltd.org (07770 924720)

 

About ERA

ERA is the trade association representing the vast majority of retailers and digital services offering music, video and games. Its members range from independent record shops (Reflex, Sister Ray) to digital services (Spotify, Google, Sky, Deezer, 7digital) to internet retailers (Amazon) to specialist High Street operators (HMV, Game) and supermarkets (Tesco, Sainsburys, Asda, Morrisons) 

ERA members supply the sales data which powers the Official Charts Company (music and video charts) and GfK Chart-Track (videogames). Together with record companies trade association the BPI, it owns the Official Charts Company. 

ERA provides the organisational force behind Record Store Day, the annual celebration of independent record stores which has become the most successful new music industry promotion of the past two decades. 

ERA works closely with its sister organisations in music, video and games and is a strong proponent of open markets, open standards and consumer choice.

 

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