National Album Day’s rock edition has helped to deliver a boost in physical sales.
In what has been described as the initiative’s strongest year to date, Official Charts Company data revealed that the UK albums market enjoyed a further boost this past weekend with vinyl LP sales rising 54% week-on-week and by 23.9% on the prior year.
It follows the release of around 60 reissues of popular and classic albums released for this year’s rock-themed National Album Day (October 18).
National Album Day titles accounted for one in every five albums sold and 34 of the 100 biggest-selling vinyl titles on the Official Vinyl Albums Chart over last weekend, led by Ghost’s Meliora, Manic Street Preachers’ This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours, Sex Pistols’ Never Mind The Bollocks and Queen’s A Night At The Opera.
The event generated around 1,000 press news items or broadcast mentions, as well as social media engagement, with nearly a million views of National Album Day owned content across the campaign and 3.8 million views on Instagram. Highlights included collaborations with Queen, Pixies, Iron Maiden, Sabaton, Green Day and Gavin Rossdale among many others.
This eighth edition of the annual event dedicated to celebrating the ‘art of the album’ was organised jointly by record labels body the BPI, and ERA, the UK’s digital entertainment and retail association, in partnership with BBC Radio 2, Official Charts, and the wider music industry.
In a joint statement, Dr Jo Twist OBE, BPI CEO and Kim Bayley, ERA CEO, said: “Building on the success of the Mercury Prize, which also celebrates the art of the album, National Album Day keeps growing in its appeal, reaching a wider audience who share a love of the album format and recognise its power for authentic storytelling. It’s so encouraging to see the growing impact the day is having, and the BPI and ERA together would like to thank our many partners who bring the day to life – BBC Radio 2, our Album Champions, the UK’s label and retail communities, and the wider music industry.”
This year’s NAD album champions included Wolf Alice, Nova Twins, Architects, Sabaton’s Joakim Brodén and Iron Maiden.
Rock accounted for over 50% of all vinyl album sales tracked by the Official Charts Company in 2024.
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