Indie labels grow UK music consumption for 4th year

Music released by independent music labels accounted for 26.9 per cent of music listening in 2021, its fourth consecutive year of growth, according to new data.

All About the Music 2022, published by the BPI, the association of independent and major record labels, calculates that independent labels' share of the UK album market has grown to 34.2 per cent – up by more than 10 per cent in the last two years. Among vinyl purchases, the figure is 39.5 per cent.

The strong performance reflects a particularly successful year for ‘indie’ artists, with 60 independent albums charting in the Official Albums Chart Top-10 (compared with 52 in 2020).

Successful independent acts releasing No.1 albums last year included Wolf Alice, Mogwai, KSI and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds.

Older independently-released albums which have been revived by streaming and sales of vinyl included Arctic Monkeys’ 2013 release AM, and Adele’s 21 and 25.

This positive trend is continuing strongly into 2022, with indie share of the UK market overall now up to 28.9 per cent YTD.

Read more on the BPI website.

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