Many of us now pay a monthly sum to have unlimited access to vast libraries of songsUK
music purchases hit highest level since 2006The consumption of music in the
UK is now higher than in any year since 2006, when the industry was being powered by the downloadable mp3 file. Thirteen years ago, Crazy by Gnarls Barkley became the first song to get to No 1 on downloads alone as consumers switched over from CD singles and filled up iPods with individually purchased tracks (and, possibly, pirated ones too), while still purchasing plenty of CD albums.
In the years since there have been seismic changes in the industry. As CD players in new cars and home entertainment systems become rarer, while vinyl’s tactility and size remains more appealing to some, the CD is becoming a marginal format (though they still outsell vinyl by more than five to one). Downloads appear even more anachronistic. Indeed, the very idea of ownership of music – most of all the ownership of intangible mp3 files – is starting to feel quaint to many as more and more of us switch over to streaming.