Music streaming in the UK reaches landmark one billion plays a week

Services like Spotify, Apple Music and Deezer now account for over a third of UK music consumption.

One billion audio streams now take place in the UK each week, it has been revealed.

The milestone figure was achieved within one week last month (December) following three years of massive growth for the format, which in 2016 grew 68% on 2015 - and 500% if you go back to 2013, according to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI)'s annual recorded music report.

To put that one billion figure into content, weekly streams in the UK totalled less than 200 million at the start of 2014. As a result of this dramatic increase, audio streaming now accounts for well over a third (36.4 per cent) of all UK music consumption.

MORE: The UK's Official Top 40 biggest songs of 2016

A total of 45 billion audio streams through services including Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and Tidal took place in 2016. That works out at well over 1,500 audio streams for each of the UK’s 27 million households.

Drake's One Dance was the most streamed song in the UK in 2016, notching up 146 million plays since its release in April. Check out the full Top 10 list here. The UK's Top 10 most streamed acts of 2016 appear below:

1	DRAKE	CASH MONEY/REPUBLIC RECORDS
2	JUSTIN BIEBER	DEF JAM/VIRGIN EMI
3	RIHANNA	ROC NATION/VIRGIN EMI
4	KANYE WEST	DEF JAM/VIRGIN EMI
5	COLDPLAY	PARLOPHONE
6	THE WEEKND	REPUBLIC RECORDS/XO
7	TWENTY ONE PILOTS	ATLANTIC/FUELED BY RAMEN
8	SIA	MONKEY PUZZLE/RCA
9	ED SHEERAN	ASYLUM/ATLANTIC
10	EMINEM	INTERSCOPE/POLYDOR

Geoff Taylor, Chief Executive BPI & BRIT Awards said: "Growth in UK music consumption in 2016 was fuelled by the explosive rise in audio streaming, which has increased 500 per cent since 2013.

"We believe this performance is indicative of the promise of a new era for music, where recorded music’s investments in a digital future fuel compelling benefits for fans, artists and the entire music ecosystem."

MORE: The UK's Official Top 40 biggest albums of 2016

Look back through every Official UK Number 1 single of 2016 below...

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Article image: Rex