Whilst it is common practice for the vast portion of the alternative music world to pretend pop music does not exist or ceases to acknowledge its existence, here is some news that may somewhat change your mind…
Pop music took a 38.5% share of the singles market in 2012 – its highest percentage for a decade!
According to new BPI figures based on Official Charts Company data, the genre also accounted for more than a third of UK album sales in the year, led by Emeli Sande‘s ‘Our Version of Events’.
The dominance of pop was even stronger in the singles market, where its share rose to the highest level since 2002.
BPI Chief Executive, Geoff Taylor said, “British music fans’ love affair with pop music continued in 2012, fuelled by strong album releases from home-grown talent. But there is good news for rock fans too, with the genre fighting back to its strongest performance since 2008.
“In the singles market, pop grabbed its biggest share for ten years. The great range of digital music services in the UK, integrated into many mobile devices, is making it easy for younger music fans to get into buying music.”
Official Charts Company Managing Director Martin Talbot said, “It is apt that, in the year that we celebrated 60 years of the Official Singles Chart, Pop music remained as robust as ever in 2012 – through the likes of Emeli Sandé, Carly Rae Jepsen, Adele, One Direction, Olly Murs and Lana Del Rey, among others.
“But, with many commentators predicting that guitar music will return over the next couple of years, it is also notable that rock music in its broadest sense also rebounded with Coldplay, Mumford & Sons and Gotye enjoying very successful years in their own right. Green shoots which are destined to grow over the coming months, perhaps.”
Still not convinced? Then check these statistics recorded on the BPI website…
2012 ALBUMS SALES BY TYPE OF MUSIC (% UNITS)
| GENRE | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
| Pop | 25.3% | 29.0% | 30.9% | 33.6% | 33.5% |
| Rock | 35.7% | 31.0% | 31.2% | 29.4% | 31.3% |
| MOR/Easy Listening | 7.2% | 8.2% | 7.5% | 7.9% | 7.6% |
| R&B | 10.5% | 9.6% | 10.4% | 10.1% | 7.2% |
| Dance | 7.9% | 7.3% | 5.8% | 4.9% | 6.3% |
| Classical | 3.7% | 3.2% | 3.5% | 3.3% | 3.7% |
| Hip Hop | 2.2% | 4.3% | 4.2% | 3.4% | 3.5% |
| Country | 1.8% | 1.6% | 1.4% | 1.6% | 1.5% |
| Folk | 1.2% | 1.4% | 1.3% | 1.6% | 1.4% |
| Jazz | 1.7% | 1.5% | 1.6% | 1.5% | 1.3% |
| Reggae | 0.8% | 0.9% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 1.0% |
| Blues | 0.5% | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.9% | 0.9% |
| Children’s Audio | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% |
| World | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.3% |
| Spoken Word | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| New Age | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
BPI based on Official Charts Company data
2012 SINGLES SALES BY TYPE OF MUSIC (% UNITS)
| GENRE | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
| Pop | 28.1% | 33.5% | 38.3% | 36.0% | 38.5% |
| Rock | 31.2% | 24.5% | 17.2% | 18.0% | 20.0% |
| Dance | 13.2% | 12.7% | 12.6% | 13.8% | 13.8% |
| R&B | 18.3% | 18.9% | 18.0% | 17.2% | 12.3% |
| Hip Hop | 7.7% | 8.8% | 12.2% | 10.2% | 10.7% |
| MOR/Easy Listening | 0.5% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 1.4% | 1.5% |
| Classical | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 1.2% | 0.9% |
| Reggae | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.6% | 0.9% |
| Country | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.5% | 0.5% |
| Folk | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.6% | 0.4% |
| Jazz | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.2% |
BPI based on Official Charts Company data
So, if there are any naysayers out there in the vast world of music that choose to dismiss the genre of pop, think again! It turns out that 2012 was an extremely fruitful year for the pop music market! Who knows what further wonders we can expect on a consumer and statistical basis for the genre in 2013… only time will tell!
