New releases lead a predicted 15th successive annual uplift in vinyl LP sales, with eight of the year's Top 10 sellers released in 2022

29 December 2022 - Press release

 

Newly-released albums are claiming an ever greater share of vinyl LP sales, with the year's 10 biggest sellers to date set to include eight titles released in 2022, according to analysis of Official Charts data by the BPI, the representative voice for independent and major record labels across the UK.

Taylor Swift's Midnights ranked as the year's most popular album on vinyl in the UK, heading a Top 10 that also included 2022 releases by Harry Styles (Harry's House), Arctic Monkeys (The Car), Liam Gallagher (C'mon You Know), Wet Leg (Wet Leg), The 1975 (Being Funny In A Foreign Language), Fontaines D.C. (Skinty Fia) and Muse (Will Of The People).

The sales of these albums contributed to a UK vinyl market that is expected to grow for a 15^th successive year in 2022, reaching its highest volume level since 1990.  Final figures for vinyl LP sales in 2022 will be announced by the BPI on 4^th January 2023 as part of its Official 2022 UK Music Market Update, which will also report on CD and cassettes sales along with the total volume of audio streams for the year and year-end Official Charts.

The presence of such a high number of current albums among the year's top sellers marks a further notable shift in the make-up of a market whose revival over the past decade and a half has previously been mainly driven by catalogue titles.  Just half of the 10 biggest vinyl LPs of 2021 were albums released that calendar year, while five years ago classic albums by the likes of The Beatles, David Bowie, Oasis and Pink Floyd dominated 2017's Top 10 sellers with releases by Ed Sheeran, Liam Gallagher and Rag'n'Bone Man the only new titles to register.

The high number of new releases making up the top vinyl sellers of 2022 comes in a year which saw the three highest one-week sales for a release on vinyl this century.  See Notes for comparative 2021 vinyl trends & sales.

Harry Styles' album Harry's House set a new record in May when it sold more than 36,000 vinyl LPs in its first week of release, only for two albums to beat that number in the same week in October: Taylor Swift's Midnights, with an opening total of just under 62,000 vinyl sales, and Arctic Monkeys' The Car, which started with close to 38,000 albums sold on vinyl. These albums ranked as the year's top three vinyl sellers, with Midnights selling well over 80,000 copies on vinyl in 2022, more than any other album has managed in a calendar year this century.

The dominance of 2022 albums in the year-end vinyl chart marks a continuing shift in the market towards new releases. In 2017, albums released that year accounted for 31.3% of sales of the year's 100 biggest vinyl LPs with new albums occupying 31 places on the chart. In five years, new titles have almost doubled their share of the top end of the vinyl market. They made up about 57% of the sales of the Top 100 titles in 2022, with around 50 of these albums released this year.

OFFICIAL VINYL ARTIST ALBUMS CHART 2022 – © Official Charts Company*

Pos.         Artist & Title                                                                                            

1. Taylor Swift – Midnights
2. Harry Styles – Harry's House
3. Arctic Monkeys – The Car
4. Liam Gallagher – C'mon You Know
5. Wet Leg – Wet Leg  
6. Rumours – Fleetwood Mac
7. The 1975 – Being Funny In A Foreign Language
8. Fontaines D.C. – Skinty Fia
9. Arctic Monkeys – AM
10. Muse – Will Of The People                                                            *up to chart week 51 2022

 

Geoff Taylor, Chief Executive BPI, BRIT Awards & Mercury Prize, said: 

"Vinyl's revival has been one of the most welcome success stories of recent times. While initially this renaissance was built largely on older music fans reconnecting with treasured past albums and on younger generations newly discovering classic releases, increasingly the ongoing rise in LP sales has been driven by brand new releases.

"A diverse and growing number of contemporary artists have recognised the enduring magic of this most beloved format, from global superstars such as Taylor Swift and Harry Styles to breakthrough UK talent including Wet Leg and Yard Act. As the LP marks its 75^th anniversary in 2023, it's as relevant as ever, highlighting that, in an age of streaming, physical music purchases remain an essential and healthy part of the music market."