The fourth edition of National Album Day, staged on Saturday, 16th October, has been welcomed as a success by its joint organisers, the BPI and the Entertainment Retailers Association, with the impact reflected in the Official Vinyl Charts, the Official Album Charts and sales overall as well as across media and socials.
This year National Album Day celebrated Women in Music and the important contribution they make to the album format.
Based on Official Album Charts midweeks, vinyl LP sales on Saturday 16th October were up by just over a third (34%) on the previous Saturday 9th October (and by 44% if you compare the two New Music Fridays). CD sales were up 31% on the Saturday, and 83% on Friday, with Coldplay’s ‘Music of the Spheres’ very much the frontrunner.
Leading the charge for National Album Day releases, with a current Top-20 place in the Official Album Chart, is the Kylie Minogue Fever album – reissued on white vinyl to mark its 20th anniversary. The album is one of three titles (including Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black and Garbage’s Garbage) in the Official Chart midweek Top 40 that have been reissued to coincide with this year’s National Album Day, and one of six in the current Top-200. Additionally in the overall Official Album Chart there are three Adele albums in the Top-20 following the release of the single Easy On Me and the news that her long-awaited fourth album 30 is due out on 19th November, while National Album Day Ambassador Joy Crookes looks like enjoying a Top-10 debut with her album Skin.
National Album Day spokesperson said, “It’s great to see National Album Day continue to grow as a national event that increasingly resonates culturally and commercially. Supported by an annual theme that creates a point of focus – this year celebrating Women in Music – the day aims to foster a conversation around the art of the album and its continuing importance to artists who love to tell their stories through the format.”
BBC Sounds gave enthusiastic backing across their national and local radio network, with BBC Radio 2 dedicating their whole day to album tracks by women with an all-female playlist from Sounds of the 60s all the way through to Craig Charles’ House Party. Additionally, a special show presented by Jo Whiley counted down the top-10 all-time biggest selling albums by women, headed by Adele’s 21, as compiled by the Official Charts Company.
