Songs by Speech Debelle, Blur and Take That were among the most played music tracks in TV and radio advertising last year.

Topping PRS for Music’s top 20 rankings of most played ad songs is Over There for the Go Compare spot, followed by competitor Confused.com, which uses the Village People’s 1978 hit YMCA.

Third on the list is Eliza’s Aria for Lloyds TSB, followed by Debelle’s Spinnin’ for Sky and classical maestro Einaudi’s Primavera for Santander, Blur’s The Universal for British Gas and - seventh in the rankings - Take That’s Shine for supermarket Morrisons.

PRS for Music also reported that radio advertising accounted for £1.9m in broadcast royalties for its members, with television commercials netting £8m.

Also, among the collecting society’s data is that around one tenth of the music played on UK commercial television stations is from ads.

Dan Neale, Head of Music at advertising agency, Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R said the figures show that music's role in TV adverts is significant and it is often crucial for songwriters to land a sync deal.

“The exposure and reach they can gain by getting a song in a commercial is a huge benefit to the artist, as it allows them to cut through the many thousands of acts that the modern audience has access to. The licence fee and royalties that are generated by the campaign can change a songwriter’s career," he said.