The UK recorded music market has seen continued growth in the first quarter.
Music Week has exclusive access to BPI and Official Charts Company market data.
In the first recorded industry snapshot of 2026, there’s positive news about the UK’s growth trajectory – it follows the recent IFPI data showing that Britain has retained its Top 3 global ranking.
Furthermore, artist rankings for Q1 show UK artists – led by Olivia Dean – dominating the top of the singles chart so far in 2026. British stars have the top four singles for the quarter and 50% of the Top 10. The Q1 result followed multiple wins at the BRITs and a Grammy victory for Dean, who went on to triumph at the MOBO Awards too.
Meanwhile, Harry Styles tops the albums rundown for Q1 closely followed by Dean (see below).
According to BPI data, the recorded music market in Q1 increased by 4.6% year-on-year (AES – Album Equivalent Sales). Streaming consumption (SEA – streaming equivalent albums) was up 5.0% year-on-year.
Physical albums sales increased by 1.5% overall (4,175,463 units), driven by the strength of vinyl sales – up 15.1% year-on-year (1,958,715 units) with a strong showing for Harry Styles on the format. CD sales were down 7.5% year-on-year (2,147,438 units).
Following its No.1 finish in 2025, Island EMI was once again the market leader in Q1 with a 15.8% share across all consumption. The label had a No.1 album earlier this year with Mumford & Sons and is set for a chart-topping result with Dermot Kennedy.
Olivia Dean triumphs at the BRIT Awards (credit: Karwai Tang/Wireimage/Getty)
“The optimism our industry has experienced over the last 12 months has translated into a positive Q1 for the UK market,” BPI CEO Dr Jo Twist told Music Week. “Buoyed by a new generation of artists making their mark and more established stars releasing acclaimed new albums, we’ve seen a solid rise in consumption across both streaming and physical formats.
“The big stories have included Harry Styles returning with the hugely successful Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally, which launched so memorably at this year’s BRIT Awards with Mastercard in Manchester and was the biggest week one performance on vinyl by a British artist this century, and the continued reign of Olivia Dean on the Official Singles Chart.”
Q1 ARTIST RANKINGS
Capitol-signed Olivia Dean topped the overall singles chart for the first three months with Man I Need (731,123 units in Q1 – Official Charts Company) and she is at No.2 with Sam Fender collaboration Rein Me In (549,498 units in Q1). Both singles topped the weekly charts.
Dean also has 12 Top 100 Q1 entries including So Easy (To Fall In Love) at No.9 (435,069 units in Q1), Nice To Each Other at No.12 (338,604 units in Q1), A Couple Minutes at No.23 (208,300 units in Q1) and The Hardest Part at No.23 (207,608 units in Q1).
In addition, Raindance by Dave & Tems is at No.3 (528,159 units in Q1) and Where Is My Husband! by Raye is at No.4 (506,078 units in Q1). At the start of Q2, Raye scored her first No.1 album with This Music May Contain Hope, debuting at the summit with consumption of 46,976 units – a tally achieved without the need for a plethora of vinyl or CD variants.
Released late in Q1, Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally (Columbia) still managed to storm to the top of the quarterly rankings for Harry Styles. His third chart-topper amassed consumption of 226,349 units in Q1 – just ahead of The Art Of Loving by Olivia Dean on 223,731 units in the quarter.
The optimism our industry has experienced over the last 12 months has translated into a positive Q1 for the UK market
Dr Jo Twist
That tussle for supremacy looks set to continue in the second quarter with The Art Of Loving edging out in front again since Q1 closed.
British acts spent 12 consecutive weeks at No.1 in the albums chart earlier this year – the best run for domestic talent since 2017. It included chart-toppers from Styles, Mumford & Sons, Gorillaz, Charli XCX, Olivia Dean, Louis Tomlinson and Robbie Williams.
“In a quarter that also saw the Official Singles Chart and Official Albums Chart No.1s almost entirely dominated by British artists, it was great to see the Top 3 albums on vinyl and CD led by homegrown talent, with strong showings from Mumford & Sons, Robbie Williams, and Gorillaz alongside Olivia and Harry,” said Twist. “With more big releases expected, the impetus from Q1 should help to power another notable year at home and on the global stage for the UK market.”
Styles also scored two No.1 singles with American Girls (No.57 overall in Q1) and Aperture (No.16 in Q1). Other acts in the quarterly Top 20 include PinkPantheress at No.11 with Stateside and Sienna Spiro at No.14 with Die On This Hill.
On the quarterly albums rankings, another notable UK success was Rebel by EsDeeKid, which finished at No.21 with 52,318 units in Q1 – making it the biggest rap album of 2026 so far.
Rebel was released independently in partnership with ADA – subscribers can read our full exclusive interview from the new edition of Music Week with the team here.
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