Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo driving record-breaking sales of vinyl as young stars lead LP resurgence
TAYLOR Swift has helped send UK sales of vinyl records spinning to their highest level since 1990.
They are up 11.7 per cent this year — the fastest growth rate so far this decade, after a rise of just 2.9 per cent in 2022.
Superstar US performer Swift has aided the LPs boom, with three of her releases in the vinyl top ten.
The Look What You Made Me Do singer’s re-recordings of 1989 and Speak Now, plus her Midnights album, are at one, four and eight.
Older artists The Rolling Stones with new release Hackney Diamonds and Fleetwood Mac with the classic Rumours are also up there — with young stars Olivia Rodrigo, 20, and Lewis Capaldi, 27.
The full annual sales will be revealed on January 3.
But industry body the BPI said more than 250,000 vinyls were sold in the seven days before Christmas, the best week for the format this century.
More than four fifths of recorded music listened to in the UK is now made up of streaming.
But more than 11million CDs were sold — and cassette tape sales topped 100,000 for the fourth consecutive year.
BPI chief executive Dr Jo Twist said: “Led by vinyl, the resurgence of physical product underlines the resilience of the UK music market at a time when streaming continues to hit record levels.”
Vinyls top ten
- Taylor Swift — 1989 (Taylor’s Version)
- The Rolling Stones — Hackney Diamonds
- Lana Del Rey — Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
- Taylor Swift — Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)
- Fleetwood Mac — Rumours
- Blur — The Ballad Of Darren
- Pink Floyd — The Dark Side Of The Moon
- Taylor Swift — Midnights
- Olivia Rodrigo — Guts
- Lewis Capaldi — Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent