According to new official figures released by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA), music streaming and vinyl purchasing have powered substantial growth of music consumption in Ireland in 2019. The results were based on Official Charts Company data.
Streaming continued its upward trajectory, with 7.5 billion audio streams logged in Ireland last year, marking a 37% growth compared to 2018. Lewis Capaldi’s Someone You Loved claimed the most audio streams over all (21.1 million), while Outnumbered by Dermot Kennedy was the most played song by an Irish act (11 million).
Albums-wise, Lewis Capaldi scored the best-selling record of the year in Ireland with Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent. Dermot Kennedy also notched up the Top 2 albums on Ireland’s Official Homegrown Chart, with Without Fear and his self-titled compilation release occupying the No.1 and 2 positions respectively.
An official press release also stated that the vinyl format has also accelerated, growing 30% year-on-year, up from the 5.3% annual growth witnessed in 2018.
Big 2019 releases on vinyl were cited as Billie Eilish, Dermot Kennedy, Bruce Springsteen and Fontaines D.C..
IRMA stated that, overall, 7.28 million album equivalent sales were recorded across physical, digital and streaming in 2019, up 10% from 2018.
Speaking about the results, IRMA chairman Willie Kavanagh said: “The Irish Music Industry in 2019 has once again seen a significant increase in streaming consumption providing music to all generations ‘on the go’ proving invaluable in our ever increasingly busy lives. Vinyl has also continued to grow showing that there are music enthusiasts out there who still want the ‘physical’ product. The launch of the ‘Irish Homegrown Top 20’ in 2019 was a great platform to highlight both established and upcoming Irish Musicians. Hopefully, 2020 and the start of a new decade will see lots of new Irish talent emerging and I encourage all out there to get involved in music and enjoy all that it has to offer.”
FOLLOW 
