Music streaming continues to surge as weekly plays hit massive milestone

The popularity of streaming continues to surge in a big way, as the BPI reveal today (July 25) that the number of songs played per week in the UK has hit a massive new landmark.

The number of audio streams in a single week - through the likes of Spotify, Deezer and recently launched services Apple Music and Tidal - has now passed 500 million (505, 849,000 for chart week ending July 16), according to Official Charts Company data.

The figure is almost double the amount compared to this time last year, when streams averaged 275 million per week – a total of 14.8 billion for the whole year.

In the first half of 2015 there have been 11.5 billion streams, up 80% compared to the same period last year. If streaming continues to grow at the current rate for the rest of the year, the number of audio streams is likely to exceed 25 billion.

Streaming facts:

• 59 tracks were streamed more than 10 million times in the UK in the first six months of 2015.
• Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars' Uptown Funk is the UK’s most streamed song of the year so far, played more than 45 million times. Click here to view the full Top 40 most streamed songs of the year so far.
• Ed Sheeran is currently the most streamed artist this year, with his tracks streamed over 170 million times (see the full Top 10 list below).

Geoff Taylor, Chief Executive BPI and BRIT Awards, said: “It’s remarkable that we now speak of billions of audio streams per month – it demonstrates vividly just how quickly streaming is being embraced by British music fans.

“As more consumers explore the enhanced experience offered by premium quality subscriptions such as Apple Music and Spotify Premium, it will help our world-leading record labels invest even more into unearthing the next generation of British talent for fans here and around the world.”

Earlier this year, streaming was added into the Official Albums Chart, following its inclusion to the Official Singles Chart in July 2014. 

MORE: The Official Top 40 Biggest Songs of 2015 so far
MORE: The Official Top 40 Biggest Albums of 2015 so far

The Top 10 most streamed artists between Jan – Jun 2015 are: