Wed, 31 Dec 2025

Wed, 31 Dec 2025 Female artists (and Oasis) drove UK music sales in 2025

Taylor Swift was the biggest-seller, with Olivia Dean and Sabrina Carpenter also topping the charts.

* Taylor Swift's album "The Life of a Showgirl" was the biggest seller in 2025, shifting 642,000 copies.
* Women led the UK music industry to a record-breaking year, with combined sales rising by nearly 5% to 201 million albums sold or streamed.
* Oasis saw a resurgence, selling over one million albums and their greatest hits compilation "Time Flies" was the fourth biggest album of the year.
* Streaming accounts for 89% of the overall music market, with fans streaming 210.3 billion songs in 2025.
* US singer Alex Warren's song "Ordinary" was the most-played track of the year.
* Older songs dominated the charts, with six of the Top 10 best-selling tracks released in 2024 or earlier.
* New female talent made a significant impact, with Olivia Dean and Lola Young achieving major success.
* Vinyl sales have risen for 18 successive years, up 13% to 7.6 million units, with Taylor Swift's "Life Of A Showgirl" leading the way.
* The gap between vinyl and CD sales is narrowing, with CDs selling 9.7 million units in 2025 compared to 11.7 million vinyls.
* Cassettes saw a significant increase, with sales rising by 53.8% to 164,491 units.
* A new generation of British talent achieved international success, including Olivia Dean and Lola Young breaking into the US Billboard charts and scoring Grammy nominations.
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