UK CD sales decline slows in 2021 whilst vinyl and cassettes continue surge according to preliminary sales figures from the BPI. New figures to be released by record labels’ association the BPI using Official Charts Company data will show that purchases of vinyl LPs and audio cassettes in 2021 continued their surge of recent years. Fans kept showing their love of the album on physical format while also continuing to stream in ever-growing numbers.
The Compact disc has been showing a decline in demand for 17 years now, as fans first began switching to downloads in the Noughties and for over 10 years have had access to music via streaming services. The drop-off in CD sales has reduced from 27% annually between 2018 – 2020 to just a predicted -12% in 2021, with sales boosted by CD-friendly releases from artists such as Adele, Ed Sheeran and ABBA. This suggests that reducing demand for the format, which is nearing its 40th anniversary, may be bottoming out thanks to a core group of baby-boomer and newer fans that remain committed to the audio format.
Vinyl purchases are at their highest level in over three decades with over 5 million LPs have already been purchased over the past 12 months – a jump of 8% or higher on 2020 and a 14th consecutive year of growth since the format’s low point in 2007. Vinyl will have accounted for nearly a quarter of 2021 album purchases (predicted 23%), estimated to be at its highest level since 1990, when Phil Collins’ But Seriously was the biggest selling title.
Predicted best-selling vinyl albums for 2021
(Based on preliminary data)
- ABBA – Voyage
- Adele – 30
- Fleetwood Mac – Rumours
- Ed Sheeran – =
- Amy Winehouse – Back To Black
Astonishingly the Cassette revival grows recording its 9th year of consecutive growth
Though still just a fraction of overall UK recorded music consumption, and often released in limited edition format, cassettes now come as standard on many album releases. Final figures for 2021 are likely to show that around 190,000 tapes were purchased in the past 12 months – up by around a fifth (20%) on the year and the highest amount since 2003, when 243,000 tapes were sold and Now 54 was the year’s biggest seller on the format.
Predicted best-selling cassette albums for 2021
(Based preliminary data)
- Olivia Rodrigo – Sour
- Dave – We’re All Alone In This Together
- Lana Del Rey – Chemtrails Over The Country Club
- Queen – Greatest Hits
- Coldplay – Music of the Spheres
Releases on physical format play an essential ‘kingmaker’ role in shaping No.1 Official Album Chart success. More often than not, having an album available on physical formats plays a pivotal role in artists being able to achieve No.1 albums in the Official Albums Chart. In 2021 to date in 40 of the 52 weeks of the year the album that topped the Charts did so thanks to combined CD, vinyl and cassette purchases accounting for over half the album’s consumption in the week that it got to No.1 – a trend exemplified by Adele’s album 30, which in its first five weeks of release saw 75% of its chart sales attributable to physical format purchases.
Overall, over 240 album titles were purchased more than 10,000 times during the past year across all physical formats (vinyl, CD and cassette).
