Female Artists (and Oasis) Drove UK Music Sales in 2025
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Mark Savage, Music Correspondent
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Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving emerged as one of the best-selling albums of 2025.
In a year that few could have predicted, Taylor Swift dominated the UK music charts, solidifying her place as a powerhouse in the industry. Her 12th album, The Life of a Showgirl, became the biggest seller of the year, amassing an impressive 642,000 chart sales since its October release. Female artists took center stage throughout 2025, with breakout talents like Olivia Dean and Lola Young propelling the music industry to record heights. Overall, combined music sales rose nearly 5%, totaling 201 million albums sold or streamed.
A notable highlight this year was the triumphant return of Oasis. Their blockbuster reunion tour helped them sell over one million albums, with their greatest hits compilation, Time Flies, becoming the fourth biggest album of the year, closely followed by (What’s The Story) Morning Glory at seventh place.
– Oasis sold 1.4 million tickets for their comeback tour.
Streaming Takes Over the Market
The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) revealed that streaming now dominates the music landscape, accounting for 89% of the overall market. The Official Charts Company counts 1,000 streams from an album as equivalent to one album sale. Fans engaged with a staggering 210.3 billion songs over the year, yet notably, Alex Warren’s Ordinary was the only new release that significantly impacted the charts.
Interestingly, six of the top ten best-selling tracks were released in 2024, while Chappell Roan’s Pink Pony Club dates back to 2020. Despite this, 2025 celebrated a surge of new female talent, with Lola Young delivering the second-biggest single of the year, Messy. Furthermore, Olivia Dean made history by becoming the first woman in UK chart history to achieve her first number one single (Man I Need) and album (The Art of Loving) in the same week.
Dean remarked, I wanted it to feel just like a hug—comforting. Everything needed to feel warm and intimate, reflecting her desire to provide solace through her music.
– Dean achieved four simultaneous top 10 hits and capped off her year with a performance on Jools Holland’s Hootenanny.
A Year of Breakthroughs
2025 marked significant breakthroughs for confessional songwriters like Skye Newman and Sienna Spiro. Other artists, including Raye, PinkPantheress, and Wet Leg, further solidified their initial waves of success both domestically and internationally. Female artists dominated the singles chart, accounting for two-thirds of the year’s number one hits. Jade, a former Little Mix star, celebrated the biggest opening week for a debut album with her critically acclaimed That’s Showbiz, Baby!
The Vinyl Resurgence
Vinyl sales saw a remarkable rise for the 18th consecutive year, increasing by 13% year-on-year to 7.6 million units. Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl led the vinyl market, and her limited edition release, Lover (Live From Paris), sold 47,000 copies in just 72 hours, marking the first album to reach number one solely on pure sales in eight years.
Overall, vinyl sales have doubled in the last decade and are on track to surpass CD sales for the first time since the 1990s. The gap between the two formats has narrowed to just 2 million sales, with 9.7 million CDs sold in 2025—a stark contrast to 47.3 million a decade ago. Interestingly, cassettes also experienced a resurgence, with a staggering 53.8% sales increase, totaling 164,491 units; notably, the soundtrack for Robbie Williams’ biopic Better Man topped the sales on tape.
In its report, the BPI highlighted the emergence of a new generation of British talent achieving international acclaim. Both Olivia Dean and Lola Young broke into the US Billboard charts and received nominations for Best New Artist at the upcoming Grammy Awards.
– UK rock acts like Yungblud, Sleep Token, Wolf Alice, and Florence + The Machine made substantial waves internationally.
Ed Sheeran notably became the first overseas artist to top India’s Spotify Charts since 2021 with his single Sapphire.
Dr. Jo Twist, CEO of the BPI, emphasized the significance of these achievements amidst fierce competition. The UK remains the second largest exporter of music globally, but we must continue to support British artists in this challenging environment, she stated in an interview with BBC News.
In conclusion, 2025 has dazzled with its unique blend of emerging female artists and the celebrated return of Oasis, marking a pivotal year for UK music sales and the industry’s evolution.