Olivia Dean, Lola Young and Sam Fender Drive U.K. Recorded Music Market to Record Highs in 2025
The figures from the BPI cap off a strong year for British musicians both domestically and on the global stage.
12/30/2025
The figures from the BPI cap off a strong year for British musicians both domestically and on the global stage.
Olivia Dean performs during 2025 Austin City Limits Music Festival at Zilker Park on October 11, 2025 in Austin, Texas. Erika Goldring/WireImage
LONDON — The United Kingdom’s recorded music market reported an 11th consecutive year of growth following success for local artists domestically and on the global stage.
In a report shared by the BPI (British Phonographic Institute), artists such as Olivia Dean, Lola Young, Sam Fender, Central Cee and more are credited as being crucial players in the market’s bumper 2025. Massive tours for Oasis, Coldplay and Ed Sheeran also saw sales for their back catalog soar as a result.
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The newly-released figures show that music consumption across sales and streams increased by 4.9% annually over the past 12 months to reach a new high of 210.3 million albums (or their streamed equivalent) consumed, with 210.3 billion streams accumulated across the year. Streaming figures rose 5.5% year-on-year to make up 89.3% of consumption (2024 saw 88.8%), and sales of vinyl LPs increased for an 18th year in a row.
In the Official Charts Company’s end of year lists for 2025, U.K. artists feature prominently throughout. The Official Albums Chart’s best-selling album of 2025 was Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl, and releases from British artists Ed Sheeran, Oasis, Sam Fender and Olivia Dean also appear in the top 10.
On the Official Singles Chart, Lola Young’s “Messy” finishes as the second-biggest song of the year, and Olivia Dean’s “Man I Need” ends the year at No. 9. Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” – which ruled the Official Singles Chart for 13 weeks – takes the top spot of the year-end chart.
The vinyl revival continued in 2025 with the market growing 13.3% year-on-year to 7.6 million, compared to 9.1% annual growth in 2024. Six of the ten biggest-selling vinyl titles of the year were released in the last two years, led by Swift’s , which shifted over 147,000 units, the most vinyl LPs sold of a release in a calendar year since the Official Charts Company launched in 1994.
