Investment in British music has hit an all-time high of £500m, according to new figures released by the BPI. The figures show that in 2014 British music generated revenues of over £400m, helping to put homegrown talent back on top and drive investment in the careers of songwriters and composers.

ed sheeranEd Sheeran has helped British music enjoy a very profitable year.

The figures released today by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and the Music Publishers Association (MPA) show that £497m was invested in writing and producing new music, signing and developing artists and songwriters, and promoting records in 2014.

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British record labels invested £178m in A&R during the year, the highest level of investment as a proportion of revenues since 1992. Over £157.4m was also invested in supporting label marketing and promotion. The combined total of over £335m means in 2014 just under half of record label revenues went back into signing, developing and marketing British artists.

"It's no fluke that 2014 was such an outstanding year for British music. These achievements do not come easily, however, and they reflect the huge A&R and marketing investment by labels as well as the significant risks they undertake in signing new artists," said Geoff Taylor, chief executive of the BPI and BRIT Awards.

"Alongside the artists themselves, the passion and commitment labels show in unearthing, nurturing and developing the next wave of talent is one of the main reasons our music is the envy of the world right now,” Taylor added.

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In 2014 around one in seven albums sold globally were by British artists and they also accounted for five of the world’s top 10 best-selling artist albums. Artists such as Ed Sheeran and One Direction have helped fuel the British music bomb, by finding massive chart success at home and worldwide.