Brits bought twice as many CDs as vinyl LPs in 2023

The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) published its provisional 2023 report today.

The headline item, somewhat predictably, is the continued rise of vinyl. 16 years and counting and the highest number of vinyl units shifted since 1990. According to the BPI, Brits bought 5.9 million slabs of vinyl in 2023. That’s up 11.7% on last year, which is a larger increase than the year before: 2.9%.

And: “…more than 40% of the 100 most-purchased vinyl LPs of 2023 were released in the past two years”. Think: Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Lewis Capaldi and Olivia Rodrigo. Flipping that around, 60% of vinyl sales come from catalogue releases and/or classic albums: Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, Wham, De La Soul, The Courteneers and Oasis.

Here are the UK’s top-selling vinyl albums for 2023:

1. Taylor Swift – 1989 (Taylor’s Version)
2. The Rolling Stones – Hackney Diamonds
3. Lana Del Rey – Did You Know There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
4. Taylor Swift – Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)
5. Fleetwood Mac – Rumours
6. Blur – The Ballad Of Darren
7. Pink Floyd – The Dark Side Of The Moon
8. Taylor Swift – Midnights
9. Olivia Rodrigo – Guts
10. Lewis Capaldi – Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent

We also learn from the BPI that streaming makes up 80% of the UK music market.

Here are the Guardian, the NME and CNN’s headlines for this ‘story’:

Vinyl’s comeback still resonates with readers of the mainstream press.

But what of CDs? This is where things get interesting:

From the BPI’s provisional report: “Additionally, the CD market has sustained its smallest annual decline in nearly a decade this year as it moves closer to plateauing. Nearly 11 million CDs, which remain important commercially and to Official Charts success, were sold across the year…”.

11 million CDs. 5.9 million vinyl LPs.

Now let us say the quiet part out loud: in the UK, CDs still outsell vinyl 2:1.

Further information: BPI

_{The BPI’s finalised report for 2023’s music sales/rentals drops on January 3rd, 2024.}

Related posts:

No, vinyl did not outsell CDs in the UK in 2022 No, vinyl is not outselling CDs in Germany or the UK (or the USA…yet)