Overview
- BPI data show total consumption reached 210.3 million album-equivalents in 2025, up 4.9% for an 11th consecutive year of growth.
- Audio streaming surpassed 200 billion plays, rising 5.5% to account for a record 89.3% of listening.
- Physical formats grew for a second year, with vinyl up 13.3% to about 7.6 million units and total physical albums at 17.6 million.
- Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl sold 147,000 vinyl copies, the highest annual total since Official Charts records began, while Oasis and Coldplay tours pushed their catalogues back up the charts.
- Breakthrough UK artists—especially Olivia Dean and Lola Young—drove fresh chart milestones and international recognition, as the BPI pressed for copyright protections, AI safeguards and support for grassroots venues under cost pressure.