Homegrown artists help UK recorded music market grow for 11th consecutive year

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The UK’s recorded music market grew for an 11th consecutive year in 2025, thanks in part to a number of breakthroughs from homegrown talent.

According to the latest figures from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), which has analysed data from the Official Charts Company, overall consumption of recorded music – across both sales and streams – rose by 4.9 per cent this year, reaching a new high of 210.3million albums or their streaming equivalent.

The data also shows that the music streaming market surpassed 200billion streams for the first time in 2025, with a total of 210.3billion across the year. That was a 5.5 per cent rise on 2024, and it now accounts for a record 89.3 per cent of music consumption.

Sales of vinyl also increased for the 18th consecutive year in 2025, with all physical formats up 1.4 per cent overall.

The overall rise in sales and streaming represents strong growth, but it is slower than the 9.7 per cent increase that was reported at the end of 2024.

The positive numbers are thanks in part to the success of a number of new British artists this year, including Lola Young, who scored the second biggest single of the year with ‘Messy’, and Olivia Dean, who became the first female solo artist to achieve her first Number One single and album in the same week. ‘The Art Of Loving’ was also named as one of NME’s albums of the year, while ‘Man I Need’ was on our songs of the year list too.

A total of 27 albums by British artists topped the UK Albums Chart in 2025, including Sam Fender, Sleep Token, Yungblud, Wet Leg, Wolf Alice and Biffy Clyro, while the likes of Skye Newman, EsDeeKid, Chrystal and Myles Smith found success on the UK Singles Chart.

Jo Twist, the CEO of BPI, has said: “2025 saw UK talent break through domestically and globally, an impressive feat given more acts than ever are vying for audience attention. From Olivia Dean and Lola Young to Sleep Token and Sam Fender, new British talent are now chart-topping sensations at home and are making their presence felt in key markets around the world, while the likes of Ed Sheeran continue to reinforce their icon status. This is testament to the diverse, exceptional talent that exists throughout the UK, and to the vital role labels play in supporting artists to long-term success.

“This impact should be a powerful reminder that British music is a global headline act, and one of the crown jewels of the UK’s creative industries. Ensuring its success should be high on the government’s agenda in 2026. We need the commitment of policy makers, the continued protection of the UK’s gold standard copyright framework, and a business environment which supports direct licensing between music and tech companies in order for labels to continue to discover, nurture and promote the global stars of tomorrow.”

As for international artists, Taylor Swift became the first name to claim the biggest album of the year in two consecutive years for different albums since ABBA in 1977, with ‘The Life Of A Showgirl’ scoring the biggest first-week sales since Ed Sheeran’s ‘-’ in 2017 for a year-end total of 642,000 sales.

US singer-songwriter Alex Warren scored the biggest song of the year with ‘Ordinary’, while the blockbuster 2025 tours from Oasis and Coldplay helped their greatest hits records soar up the year-end albums charts.