UK recorded music enjoys 4.9% sales growth in 2025
The latest report from BPI indicates that music fans have listened to the equivalent of 210.3 million albums from UK artists this year.
The UK recorded music industry has delivered another year of steady growth, with 2025 marking the eleventh consecutive year of expansion. According to newly released data from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), total recorded music consumption across the UK increased by 4.9% year on year, reaching the equivalent of 210.3 million albums.
Streaming was once again the backbone of the market in 2025. According to the BPI’s analysis of Official Charts Company data, the annual audio streaming total passed 210.3 billion streams, an increase of 5.5% year-on-year. Digital Music News reports that streaming now makes up 89.3% of overall recorded music consumption, rising slightly from 88.8% in 2024.
Vinyl sales also continued their long revival, growing for the 18th consecutive year. Physical formats as a whole saw an uplift of 1.4% in 2025, meaning that after nearly two decades of decline, physical music has now shown positive growth for the second year running. There was some confusion earlier in the year when first-half figures appeared softer due to under-reported sales, but later quarterly updates revealed strong final quarter gains, especially in vinyl – aided in part by high fan demand for certain big releases.
British artists and women played a major role in shaping the year’s success. 2025 saw a strong mix of breakthrough names and established acts making their mark on the charts, both at home and internationally. Olivia Dean enjoyed a landmark year, becoming the first woman in UK chart history to score her debut number one single and album in the same week. Lola Young delivered one of the year’s biggest singles with “Messy”, while artists such as Skye Newman, Chrystal, and Sienna Spiro also achieved notable domestic chart success.
Elsewhere, UK rock group Sleep Token reached a new peak by securing their first number one album in both the UK and the US, underlining the growing global reach of British alternative music. Liverpool rapper EsDeeKid also broke into the UK Top 10 for the first time, highlighting the range of genres contributing to the industry’s overall performance.
Live music also played a major role in boosting recorded music consumption. Oasis’ reunion tour attracted around 1.4 million fans across the UK and Ireland, helping drive a surge in streaming and physical sales, with over one million albums sold in 2025 alone. Coldplay also broke records, selling nearly one million tickets across ten sold-out Wembley Stadium shows during their Music of the Spheres tour.
The Guardian notes that newcomer and award success added further momentum. Mercury Prize winner Sam Fender debuted at number one with People Watching, delivering the fastest first-week sales of the year for a UK act and ranking among 2025’s top albums across streaming and physical formats.
Looking ahead, the BPI has stressed the need to protect the foundations of the industry. CEO of BPI, Dr. Jo Twist warned that continued success depends on strong copyright protections and fair relationships between music and technology companies, stating, “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.”