With No.1 albums already this year from Olivia Dean, Robbie Williams, Louis Tomlinson, Charli XCX, Mumford & Sons and Gorillaz, UK acts are enjoying their best albums chart run in four years.
Locking out US and international acts, the 10-week spell at the summit – five of them by Olivia Dean’s The Art Of Loving – for British talent so far this year is sure to extend further this week with the release of Harry Styles’ fourth album, Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally (Columbia).
With the BRITs performance already giving lead single Aperture a boost in the latest published chart, the campaign will also benefit from the Netflix concert special that happened at the weekend. According to the Official Charts and Radio 1 First Look Chart, Harry Styles occupies the entire Top 3 singles (the maximum number of tracks allowed for a primary artist under chart rules) with American Girls at No.1, Aperture at No.2 and Ready, Steady, Go! at No.3. Look out for the official Midweek Sales Flash later today for the early impact of the singles and new album.
It is part of a wider picture of big album releases in the first three months of the year. BTS’ huge comeback will see them release Arirang (Polydor) on March 20, which will also be followed by a Netflix global livestream the following day.
Country star Luke Combs also returns this month with The Way I Am (Sony Music CG) on March 20.
Raye’s This Music May Contain Hope (Human Re Sources/The Orchard) follows on March 27. Raye has used her arena tour to debut new material from the forthcoming album. Following the No.1 result for lead single Where Is My Husband!, she has just secured another Top 20 hit with new track Nightingale Lane.
The first quarter has also seen new releases from Morrissey, Leigh-Anne and Bruno Mars, while Noah Kahan will release a new album next month.
Early market data shows streaming consumption up year-on-year, while physical sales growth is flat – although with the anticipated volumes for Styles and BTS, that could soon move into growth.
Where big titles were once backloaded in the Q4 period for gifting of physical music, that is no longer the case with streaming now the dominant form of consumption.
“There is real excitement about the strength of the music release slate this year,” said Kim Bayley, CEO of digital entertainment and retail association ERA. “Overall revenues may no longer be as correlated with releases as they once were, but the noise created by exciting new releases engages audiences and of course our members whose passion for music is the key driver for so many of them.”
I think we are well set up to achieve another record year for vinyl
Kim Bayley
In terms of the physical music market, though, superstar releases can make a clear impact alongside catalogue sales – as seen from Taylor Swift’s vinyl sales in the past few years.
“It’s encouraging to see such a strong and diverse release schedule in the first half of the year,” said Rough Trade’s MD Lawrence Montgomery. “While vinyl’s growth is increasingly supported by catalogue, we firmly believe long-term sustainability comes from new releases and new artists.”
Even below the No.1 position, Q1 has seen significant new releases from Blue, Zach Bryan and Lily Allen’s physical edition of West End Girl.
“Q1 is shaping up very well for physical music in the UK,” said Proper Music Distribution MD Drew Hill, who highlighted albums from Harry Styles, BTS and Gorillaz. “We have to stop being so timid, and sometimes even apologetic, about the continued resilience of physical formats.”
“Q1 is shaping up really positively for Proper,” added Erica Day, director of client services at Proper Music Distribution. “There’s a healthy mix of frontline and catalogue-led projects from labels working across a wide range of genres and fanbases.”
Hill welcomed the Q1 momentum with “with many more exciting releases already being discussed in the corridors of label offices”, particularly following a Q4 that “wasn’t the strongest release schedule on record”.
There is also the landmark release this week of the Warchild Help(2) charity album, featuring a new Arctic Monkeys song alongside tracks from The Last Dinner Party, Arlo Parks, Fontaines DC, Young Fathers, Pulp, Wet Leg and more.
It’s encouraging to see such a strong and diverse release schedule in the first half of the year
Lawrence Montgomery
Inspired by the original Help album in 1995, Help(2) will provide vital funds for War Child. It follows Arctic Monkeys’ 2020 Live At The Royal Albert Hall album, which raised more than £1.25m for the charity helping children in conflict zones.
“As the need is now greater than ever, we hope that in the digital age, with the support of all our global DSP and media partners, the Help(2) album will reach an even bigger global audience than its predecessor and help provide the long-term vital funds War Child needs to support children traumatised by war,” said Arctic Monkeys manager Ian McAndrew, CEO and founder of Wildlife Entertainment.
As well as featuring on Help(2) this week (with Grian Chatten and Kae Tempest), Damon Albarn has the current No.1 album with Gorillaz’s The Mountain, which scored their best opening week since 2017. The virtual group’s first release on their own label, KONG, came with a plethora of vinyl, CD and cassette versions.
“In an industry defined by rapid change we have built an incredible in-house team which collaborates with a global network of independent specialists,” Niamh Byrne, Gorillaz’s manager and co-founder of Eleven Management, told Music Week. She said the campaign has been about “redefining how we connect with audiences, because that’s all that matters, and without needing to compromise”.
With the Q1 slate now loaded with big releases, there is the danger that even some big titles can get overlooked.
“Spreading marquee artist albums more evenly across the calendar makes far more sense than loading everything into one quarter and hoping for the best,” said Proper’s Drew Hill. “Retailers need a constant stream of releases to keep fans coming back week after week, from January through to December. Having tentpole industry moments like the BRITs, Record Store Day, National Album Day and the Mercury Prize spread throughout the year also helps sustain public and media interest.”
But Rough Trade’s Montgomery welcomed the challenge.
“A busy release schedule helps create energy and momentum across our stores and channels,” he told Music Week. “That said, there are real-world constraints around customer spending power, so balance does matter.”
Retailers need a constant stream of releases to keep fans coming back week after week
Drew Hill
With physical-friendly acts such as Harry Styles, Raye, BTS, Gorillaz and Charli XCX all releasing new music in Q1, it potentially sets up another strong performance for vinyl in particular.
“We’re coming off a year when vinyl grew by 10.5%, its 18th straight year of growth, so all bets are off,” said Bayley. “I have seen enough people get egg on their faces over the past two decades by prematurely calling the top of the vinyl revival that I am convinced the sky’s the limit. Both labels and retailers have shown their ability constantly to push the envelope. Combine that with a very strong Record Store Day line-up and I think we are well set up to achieve another record year.”
“Record Store Day remains a hugely important anchor point, often providing heightened visibility and momentum for artists, but it’s just one part of a wider year-round strategy,” said Proper’s Eric Day. “We’re looking forward to continuing our close collaboration with labels and retailers throughout Q1 and beyond.”
“As vinyl continues to grow, we’re seeing a broader demographic coming into record shops, including younger and more pop-focused audiences,” added Montgomery. “These fans want a deeper, more tangible connection with the artists they love, and record shops provide a space for that in a way digital platforms can’t.”
Crucially, several of the big Q1 album releases will be followed by huge tours, including stadium dates for BTS, Bruno Mars, Luke Combs, Gorillaz and Harry Styles, who will break the Wembley record with 12 nights for the Together, Together residency.
“We have always had big album releases,” said ERA’s Kim Bayley. “The difference these days is their ability, thanks to social and broader media coverage, to turn into international cultural moments. There’s a lot to look forward to in the coming months.”
PHOTO: Harry Styles performing at the BRIT Awards 2026 (Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty)
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