UK Music Sales Rise Almost 5% in 2025, Led by Female Artists and Oasis Reunion
UK music sales in 2025 increased nearly 5% to 201 million albums sold or streamed, driven by strong performances from female artists and the band Oasis.
Taylor Swift's album The Life of a Showgirl was the year's biggest seller, achieving 642,000 chart sales since its October release. Female artists dominated the market, with breakout UK acts Olivia Dean and Lola Young gaining attention. Six of the Top 10 best-selling tracks originated from 2024 releases.
Olivia Dean made history as the first UK woman to top both the number-one single and number-one album charts in the same week with Man I Need and The Art Of Loving, respectively. She also had four simultaneous Top 10 hits.
Oasis's reunion tour contributed significantly ahead, with over 1 million albums sold in 2025. Their album Time Flies ranked as the fourth biggest album, while (What’s The Story) Morning Glory was seventh. The band also sold 1.4 million tickets for their tour.
Streaming dominated the market, accounting for 89% of sales, with 210.3 billion songs streamed during 2025. Alex Warren's track Ordinary was the most-played song of the year.
Vinyl sales rose by 13% to 7.6 million units, with The Life Of A Showgirl leading vinyl sales. Taylor Swift's Lover (Live From Paris) sold 47,000 copies within 72 hours, becoming the first album to top pure sales in eight years.
CD sales in 2025 totaled 9.7 million units, down from 47.3 million a decade earlier. Interestingly, cassette sales increased by 53.8% to 164,491 units, with Robbie Williams' Better Man soundtrack being the best-selling tape.
UK artists continued to find international success: Olivia Dean and Lola Young charted in the US, while Ed Sheeran topped India's Spotify charts with his album Sapphire. Dr Jo Twist from the BPI emphasized the need for government support to sustain the UK music ecosystem.
