According to a survey by the BPI based on Official Charts Company data, Adele, Ed Sheeran and ABBA were the top albums in 2021 in the U.K.
Overall, the news for Europe’s record industry was good. However, there was an asterisk. Streaming was up by a healthy 5.7% in 2021 compared to the previous year. However, overall consumption was only 2.5%, which is a small number compared to the 8.2% leap in 2020 and 7.5% the previous year.
The BPI, a group of U.K. labels, still had plenty to be proud of. There were three additional milestones: In June 2021, weekly streams crossed the 3 billion mark. It then happened three times more in December. Streaming makes up 83% of the music consumed in the U.K., and gains are also being registered by the surge in vinyl sales and the niche cassette market. These gains are lost for digital downloads and compact discs.
The U.K. saw a 5.7% increase in streaming, which translated into a total of 147 million audio streams. It was distributed among top-rated artists, with 180 artists exceeding the 100 million stream mark and close enough to 2,000 artists earning more than 10,000,000 streams.
Vinyl LPs and CDs managed to register nearly equal percentage changes — in opposite directions. Vinyl was up 10.6%, and compact discs down 10.5%. Since CDs were more popular than LPs in the market, overall sales of physical albums fell 5.5%.
The year’s biggest loser in the U.K.? Digital album sales experienced a 23.1% decline over the previous year.
The year-end album chart was “30” in the lead, even with Adele’s blockbuster having come out only about six weeks before the end of the year. Sheeran’s “=” was in second place, followed by ABBA’s comeback, “Voyage,” in third —both of them also late fall arrivals that made up for lost time.
The Top 10 Albums Ranking included three greatest hits sets by Queen (No. 5), Elton John (No. 5), Elton John (No. 9). Other slots belonged to fresher albums that have been smashes on both sides of the pond, like Olivia Rodrigo’s “Sour”No. 4 and Dua Lipa’s 2020 holdover album “Future Nostalgia”No. 6. Although eight of the top 10 albums were Brits’, almost all were worldwide successes. Dave is the exception. “We’re All Alone in This Together”No. 10 would count as largely unknown to Americans.
Sheeran managed to really score, as he was the only artist with two top-10 albums. “=,”The No. 2 album for the year, was followed by a still-thriving older release, 2017’s “Divide,”No. 7. Sheeran had just one tune in the top 10, but it was his biggest. “Bad Habits”It was the No. 1 there.
There were two artists on the end of the year singles charts who each had a pair in the top ten. Rodrigo’s “Good 4 U” “Drivers License”Nos. 2-3, while the Weeknd’s “Save Your Tears” “Blinding Lights”Nos. 4, and 9. Sheeran remained at the top of singles with 9 and 4. “Bad Habits”No. 1. Despite having their albums chart at the top, Adele and ABBA did not have any singles at the top 10.
ABBA made it to No. 1. in one ranking, the vinyl charts, with “Voyage”Prioritizing charging over second-place “30”as the best LP. Although cassettes still count more as souvenirs than a real sales force in the market the market, Rodrigo’s “Sour”It was the top-selling analog tape release, an increase of 10.6% in the U.K.
“As our lives continue to be disrupted, the past 12 months have reminded us again of the important role that recorded music plays in our lives,”Geoff Taylor, chief executive at the BPI Brit Awards and Mercury Prize, said: “At the same time, the rise of streaming has empowered more artists than ever – from all backgrounds and eras – to build new fanbases around the world and to forge successful careers in music, while record labels have continued to provide the investment and support needed for British talent to thrive and reach a truly global audience.”
BPI reported that some acts from home did not dominate the year-end charts in the same way as the previously mentioned acts. It also noted that the No. 1 albums were achieved during the year by British acts including Dave (who debuted with 74,000 units in July), Sam Fender, Wolf Alice, the Lathums, the Snuts, Bring Me the Horizon, Manic Street Preachers, London Grammar, Mogwai, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Royal Blood, You Me at Six and Coldplay.
Top 10 Rankings for Three of the Charts cited in this Report:
OFFICIAL ARTIST ARTIST CHART 2021
Adele – 30
Ed Sheeran – =
ABBA – Voyage
Olivia Rodrigo – Sour
Queen – Greatest Hits
Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia
Ed Sheeran – Divide
Elton John – Diamonds
Fleetwood Mac – 50 Years: Don’t Stop
Dave – We’re All Alone in This Together
OFFICIAL SINGLES CHART 2021
Ed Sheeran – Bad Habits
Olivia Rodrigo – Good 4 U
Olivia Rodrigo – Drivers License
The Weeknd – Save Your Tears
Lil Nas X – Montero (Call Me by Your Name)
Dua Lipa – Levitating
The Kid Laroi & Justin Bieber – Stay
Glass Animals – Heat Waves
The Weeknd – Blinding Lights
Tion Wayne & Russ Millions – Body
OFFICIAL CHARTS – MOST STREAMED AUDIO TRACKS 2021
Ed Sheeran – Bad Habits
Olivia Rodrigo – Good 4 U
Olivia Rodrigo – Drivers License
Lil Nas X – Montero (Call Me by Your Name)
The Weeknd – Save Your Tears
Dua Lipa – Levitating
Glass Animals – Heat Waves
The Kid Laroi & Justin Bieber – Stay
Tion Wayne & Russ Millions – Body
The Weeknd – Blinding Lights