The British Phonographic Institute BPI released figures confirming women had an unprecedented year of success on British music charts that included Taylor Swift to Charli XCX as dominant female artist. Female pop artists achieved an incredible 34 weeks at the top of the singles chart that is a new record breaking moment for women in music history in UK charts.
Sabrina Carpenter's Singles Success in the UK Throughout 2024 Plus Women Representing Half of Top Albums
Sabrina Carpenter secured twenty-one of those top weeks specifically with hit singles Espresso Taste and Please Please Please all performing well in second half of 2024. Women also claimed half of the best selling albums including Taylor Swift’s album Tortured Poets Department being top on this list for the year.
Taylor Swift's 'Tortured Poets Department' Top Album Performance in UK Followed by Three More in Top 20
Taylor Swift's break up themed album Tortured Poets Department exceeded 783000 copies in total sales during 2024’s December. Tortured Poets Department is best performing album for a single year in UK market after Ed Sheerhan's ÷ which sold over 2.7 million in 2017. The highly successful artist Taylor Swift also placed three more titles within top 20 best selling list including 1989 Taylor's Version Lover and Folklore solidifying Swift's dominance in album sales and music consumption in general.
The 2025 Grammy Nominee's Featuring Female Artists Highlight Continued Industry Recognition
Year-end top 20 included titles from Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard And Soft plus Sabrina Carpenter’s Short N Sweet and also Chappell Roan’s The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess and Charli XCX's Brat album. These prominent female lead music titles have received Grammy nominations for album of the year in 2025 adding further momentum for women across various music formats and styles that they perform.
Charli XCX's 'Brat' Album Becomes Cultural Phenomenon Equal to Previous Years Album Chart Record
Charli XCX's album Brat became a cultural hit during its release due to her dance anthems in a style that was unique. Brat album was among 12 other female artists that also made it to the top of the Official Albums Chart equaling a record set in 2023 with various female releases. These diverse female lead albums also included releases by The Last Dinner Party with Prelude To Ecstasy and from Dua Lipa Ariana Grande and Beyonce demonstrating strong overall momentum. BBC Sound 2024 helped the release of Prelude To Ecstasy by The Last Dinner Party which also became popular over time and a part of female led releases.
Overall Music Consumption Increases in UK While Streaming Reaches Record High In 2024
Total UK music consumption expanded by 9.7% amounting 200.5 million albums bought and or streamed during 2024 where each album sale was measured by streaming units for equivalent albums by BPI standards. Streaming volume rose to all time high of 199.6 billion played tracks through services such as Spotify Apple Music and Amazon Music equivalent of every UK resident playing 2920 tracks or a total of 6 days of continuous music. Vinyl sales are experiencing continued increase for seventeen consecutive years to 6.7 million record sales demonstrating continued interest in physical media formats.
CD Sales Decline Shows Signs of Slowing While British Musicians Face Difficulty on Global Charts
CD purchases declined slowing by only 2.9% totaling 10.5 million CD sales displaying resilience with many UK physical music markets even in this digital music environment that continues. None of UK’s top 10 best selling songs were by UK artists for first time in recording history that dates back to 1970 highlighting serious issues British artists face while competing against global market saturation and growing global artists. The official UK music chart is primarily dominated by US artists which are also very popular throughout other nations.
US Singer-Songwriters Dominate UK Singles Charts; Noah Kahan Leads Overall Sales and Myles Smith Top UK Artist
US Singer-songwriters such as Noah Kahan Benson Boone and Sabrina Carpenter topped the charts in UK as Noah Kahan's break out hit "Stick Season" reached a total of 1.99 million units from streams and sales in UK. Benson Boone with Beautiful Things also made large gains in second position as Sabrina Carpenter reached third position with her summer release Espresso in 2024. The highest achieving British music release was Myles Smith’s “Stargazing” achieving twelfth place overall.
BPI Acknowledges Challenges for British Musicians as Well as High Competition
Dr Jo Twist BPI chief executive acknowledged difficulty faced by British musicians to perform in this highly competitive global environment but noted successes of other UK talents. British artist that ranged from Charli XCX and Dua Lipa to Coldplay also had good years according to the chief of BPI. Myles Smith became the breakout UK artist along with new groups like The Last Dinner Party showing new potentials and directions in modern British music. British musical talent is still relevant according to the BPI representative showing much strength and future potential in the scene.
BPI Emphasizes Government Action in Support of Music Industry and Proposed UK Copyright Law Changes
The BPI raised the issue of governmental support and protection with global influence from other musical power houses like South Korea and Latin American Countries receiving greater governmental protections and support for growing their music industries. The BPI also shared deep concerns regarding the potential changes in the UK’s copyright law as such changes can impact AI’s access to training data with artists’ work being accessible to various tech industries with little to no compensation. Dr Jo Twist said that UK remains strong music influence and that cannot be taken for granted calling for continued government support as well as focus on artists and talent for future generations of UK artists that might get support.