Taylor Swift boosts sales of vinyl and CDs.

Vinyl and CD music sales in the United Kingdom saw a significant increase of 7.9% to £164 million ($213 million) in the first half of 2024. This growth was largely attributed to the immense success of Taylor Swift, according to the latest mid-year figures from the Digital Entertainment and Retail Association (ERA).

April marked the release of Swift’s eleventh studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” which quickly became her fastest-selling album in the U.K. With an impressive equivalent of 270,000 units sold across all formats in just its first seven days, based on data from the Official Charts Company (OCC).

“The Tortured Poets Department” has spent a remarkable eight non-consecutive weeks at the number one spot in the United Kingdom, surpassing Swift’s previous record of five weeks with 2022’s “Midnights.” This success solidifies it as the top-selling album in the country so far this year by a significant margin.

As of now, sales for “The Tortured Poets Department” have reached 542,000 equivalent units in the U.K. across all formats, with physical format purchases accounting for nearly half of that total at 251,000 units. Additionally, the album saw close to 20,000 digital downloads within the same period.

Following Swift’s lead, The Weeknd’s “Highlights” is the second highest-selling album year-to-date with 220,000 equivalent sales units, showcasing the diverse range of artists contributing to the music industry’s growth.

Swift’s influence extends beyond albums, as she also claimed the top spot for the biggest-selling physical single of the first half of the year with “Fortnight” featuring Post Malone. This single dominated the U.K.’s official singles chart for a week in May, selling over 16,500 copies on CD alone, as reported by ERA.

With an impressive total of six albums in the Top 20 best-selling list, including fan favorites like “1989 (Taylor’s Version),” “Lover,” “Midnights,” and “Folklore,” Swift’s chart dominance has significantly boosted the overall music sales in the U.K.

ERA’s CEO Kim Bayley highlighted that Swift’s chart-topping success played a key role in driving physical format and download music sales to £164 million ($213 million) during the first half of 2024, representing a notable 7.9% increase from the previous year. The resurgence was further supported by the positive impact of April’s Record Store Day on retailers’ revenues.

Although ERA’s half-year sales report excludes music streaming, which dominates over 88% of all music sales in the U.K., the organization noted an 11% year-on-year increase in overall music streaming consumption for the first six months of the year.

Digging deeper into physical format sales, vinyl album purchases experienced a substantial 13.5% annual growth to surpass £86 million ($111 million), while CD sales also showed a steady 3.2% increase to reach £58 million ($75 million). In total, 8.5 million physical albums were sold in the U.K. during the period, as reported by ERA.

Moreover, music sales outpaced the growth of video sales, including DVD and Blu-ray sales, video downloads, and digital rental, totaling £214 million ($277 million) with a 5.4% year-on-year increase, excluding revenues from video streaming services like Netflix or Apple TV.

Interestingly, music sales also outstripped the growth in video games sales, combining physical and digital downloads, which saw a significant decline of almost 30% year-on-year to just under £350 million ($454 million) due to a subdued release schedule in the first half of the year, according to ERA.

Despite the challenges faced, the United Kingdom remains the world’s third-largest recorded market behind the United States and Japan, with sales amounting to $1.9 billion in 2023, as per IFPI data.