Hey, well done us. Well, well done you, really. New figures from record label trade body the BPI show that British music is doing pretty damn well in the US just now. In fact, the UK share of the American music market - the biggest in the world - has increased for the second year running, meaning that one in twelve albums sold in the US now comes from a UK artist. The growth is seemingly down to both the successful launch of new UK artists in the American market, coupled with the continuing popularity of classic British artists like Elton John, Rod Stewart and The Beatles (via that 'Love' album). Which is all cool and groovy.
Commenting on the coolness and grooviness of UK music's performance in the States, BPI CEO Geoff Taylor told CMU: "With the British music industry on a creative high, there has been a huge appetite at home and abroad for new homegrown talent in recent years - British record labels continue to show great strength in building significant US success on the back of strong domestic sales. [Meanwhile] classic British records are a vital part of music's DNA and they still generate significant sales and provide further income to invest in new British artists. No one should underestimate the cultural and economic value of these classic recordings to the British music industry. Nor the coolness and grooviness of it all".