Women Rule the Charts: The Rise of Female Artists and Oasis in UK Music 2025

2025 saw Taylor Swift reigning supreme in the UK music scene, with her latest album The Life of a Showgirl soaring to the top, achieving 642,000 chart sales since its release in October. This year marked a significant shift towards female talent in the music industry, highlighted by the breakout artists such as Olivia Dean and Lola Young, driving overall music sales to a record-breaking 201 million albums sold or streamed, a 5% increase over previous years.

The year also witnessed a remarkable resurgence for Oasis, thanks to a blockbuster reunion tour that propelled them to sell over 1 million albums. Their greatest hits compilation, Time Flies, ranked as the fourth biggest album while (What’s The Story) Morning Glory claimed the seventh spot on the charts.

Streaming continued to dominate the market, accounting for 89% of the overall music sales, with an astounding 210.3 billion songs streamed in 2025. Among the most-played tracks was Alex Warren’s Ordinary, although most top songs were already hits from previous years, underscoring the charts’ tendency to favor older tracks.

Celebrated for her groundbreaking achievements, Olivia Dean made history as the first woman to debut at number one for both a single (Man I Need) and an album (The Art Of Loving) in the same week, aiming to provide comfort through her music during turbulent times.

The female artists’ influence was evident as they accounted for two-thirds of the number one hits this year, with Jade, a former Little Mix member, achieving the biggest opening week for a debut album with That’s Showbiz, Baby!

Vinyl sales continued their upward trend, experiencing a 13% increase to 7.6 million units, with Swift’s Life Of A Showgirl leading the pack. In a surprising twist, cassette sales also rose sharply by 53.8%, primarily due to the popularity of the soundtrack for Robbie Williams’ Better Man biopic.

Internationally, talents like Olivia Dean and Lola Young broke into the US Billboard charts and earned Grammy nominations, while rock acts such as Yungblud and Florence + The Machine made strides overseas. BPI CEO Dr. Jo Twist emphasized the importance of sustaining support for these artists as the competitive landscape grows, reinforcing that the UK remains the second largest exporter of music globally. The industry is thriving, though it faces challenges with an ever-expanding array of recorded music available on streaming platforms.