UK vinyl and cassette sales surge in 2020 with vinyl sales worth twice as much as music video streaming platforms, such as YouTube, despite the tens of billions of videos watched every year. New figures released by the BPI based on provisional Official Charts Company data for the year show that alongside continued growth in streaming, which now accounts for around 80% of UK music consumption, sales of vinyl LPs and audio cassettes surged ahead in 2020.
Nearly 5 million (4.8m) LPs were purchased in the UK over the past 12 months – a leap of nearly a tenth on sales in 2019 and the 13th consecutive year of growth since 2007. Vinyl LPs now account for nearly 1 in 5 of all albums purchased (18%) and are at their highest level since the early nineties.
Amongst the year’s best sellers are classic LPs by iconic artists such as Rumours by Fleetwood Mac, who in 2020 celebrated their 50th anniversary, Oasis’s (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?, Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black and Nirvana’s Nevermind. New studio albums have also done very well, including Harry Styles’ Fine Line, Kylie Minogue’s Disco, AC/DC’s Power Up, and Ultra Mono by IDLES.
Vinyl LP sales initially dipped during the first lockdown but by September they began showing positive year-to-date growth for the first time. Campaigns such as LoveRecordStores, Tim’s Twitter Online Listening Parties (both in March), Record Store Day (postponed to June but with extra events), The Record Club and National Album Day (in October) helped to rally fans in support of indie record shops, specialist chains and the artist community.
Geoff Taylor, Chief Executive BPI, BRIT Awards & Mercury Prize, said “It’s remarkable that LP and audio tape sales should have risen at all given the challenges we’ve all faced. The surge in sales despite retail closures demonstrates the timeless appeal of collectable physical formats alongside the seamless connectivity of streaming.”
Predicted best-selling vinyl albums for 2020
(Based on provisional Official Charts data)
- Fleetwood Mac – Rumours
- Oasis – (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?
- Amy Winehouse – Back To Black
- Nirvana – Nevermind
- Harry Styles – Fine Line
- Kylie Minogue – Disco
- AC/DC – Power Up
- Queen – Greatest Hits
- IDLES – Ultra Mono
- Arctic Monkeys – Live At The Royal Albert Hall
Cassette sales double in 2020
Though still only a fraction of overall recorded music, cassettes, typically released in limited edition format, now come as standard on many album releases. Final figures based on Official Charts data for 2020 will be confirmed on 4th January, but it is projected that around 157,000 tapes will have been purchased in the past 12 months – double the total of the year before and the highest amount since 2003, when 243,000 tapes were sold and Now 54 was the year’s biggest seller on the format.
This is the eighth year of consecutive growth for the format, which is finding a new market among music enthusiasts of all ages who value its retro, collectable appeal.
Among the most popular titles released on cassette in 2020 were Lady Gaga’s Chromatica, 5 Seconds Of Summer’s Calm, which to date is the year’s fastest-seller, Yungblud’s Weird, and The 1975’s Notes On A Conditional Form.
Predicted best-selling cassette albums for 2020
(Based on provisional Official Charts data)
- Lady Gaga – Chromatica
- 5 Seconds Of Summer – Calm
- Yungblud – Weird
- The 1975 – Notes On A Conditional Form
- Blackpink – The Album
- Selena Gomez – Rare
- Kylie Minogue – Disco
- Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia
- Haim – Women In Music Pt III
- The Streets – None Of Us Are Getting Out Of This Life Alive
