Biggest selling albums in the United Kingdom (UK) 2023

In 2023, the highest selling album in the United Kingdom (UK) was 'The Highlights' by Weeknd, at over 390 thousand units through digital and physical sales in the UK. ‘MIdnights’ and '1989 (Taylor's Version)', both by Taylor Swift came in second and third, with nearly 340 thousand and nearly 300 units sold respectively. In the same year, sales retail revenue hit over 2.2 billion British pounds, of which, over 1.8 billion came from digital sales. Digital sales in 2019 grew to over 86 percent, an increase from the previous year.

Music streaming

In 2018, over 80 percent of UK individuals had streamed music at least once in the previous month. Demographics such as those aged between 12 and 15 years streamed music at least once a month. As of the first quarter of 2018, only 23 percent of music consumption came from CDs that were bought.

The UK Rich list

The UK’s richest musician as of 2019 was the composer Andrew Lloyd-Webber, who increased his personal wealth by 80 million British pounds from 2018. The ten richest musicians in the UK all hail from former generations of musicians, with no-one under the age of thirty even coming close in worth. The richest ‘young’ musician in the UK is currently Ed Sheeran, who had a personal worth of 160 million British pounds.