Cassette sales climb to their highest in the UK in 17 years: The Official Top 40 best-sellers of 2020 revealed

Sales of the humble cassette reach their highest in the UK since 2003.

Cassette sales almost doubled in 2020 to their highest level in 17 years.

The unlikely revival of the humble cassette has been gathering pace since 2018, with sales steadily increasing as more artists release their latest albums on the retro format.

According to the end-of-year report by music industry body the BPI, sales were up 94.7% in 2020 compared to the previous year, with 156,542 cassettes sold in the UK – the highest total since 2003.

Sales on the format remain tiny in the context of the overall music market (around 0.2%), but the increase shows the cassette revival is far from over yet.

The UK's best-selling cassette of 2020 was Lady Gaga's Chromatica, which sold 14,000 copies on the format, according to Official Charts Company data. 8,600 of those were sold in its first week, when the record debuted at Number 1 on the Official Albums Chart with impressive opening week chart sales of 53,000.

MORE: The Official Top 40 biggest albums of 2020

5 Seconds Of Summer's latest album CALM finished 2020 close behind Gaga with 13,000 cassette sales, while Yungblud's Weird - a chart-topper in December - is in third on 7,700 sales.

The popularity of cassettes appears not to be limited to one particular genre, instead favouring acts who have harnessed a fanbase of avid collectors: albums by The 1975, Kylie Minogue, Haim, The Streets, Gorillaz, Michael Ball & Alfie Boe and AC/DC all appear in the top sellers of 2020.

The rise in cassette sales also demonstratees the fan appeal of music in tangible formats as a complement to streaming, which rose to new record highs in 2020. Drew Hill, MD Proper Music Distribution, said: "As we celebrate this streaming boom, it’s important we also remember the ongoing fan demand for something tangible, and recognise that streaming and physical music coexist quite happily."

Official Top 40 best-selling cassettes of 2020

POS	TITLE	ARTIST
1	CHROMATICA	LADY GAGA
2	CALM	5 SECONDS OF SUMMER
3	WEIRD	YUNGBLUD
4	NOTES ON A CONDITIONAL FORM	1975
5	THE ALBUM	BLACKPINK
6	RARE	SELENA GOMEZ
7	DISCO	KYLIE MINOGUE
8	FUTURE NOSTALGIA	DUA LIPA
9	WOMEN IN MUSIC - PT 3	HAIM
10	NONE OF US ARE GETTING OUT OF THIS LIFE	STREETS
11	ALL DISTORTIONS ARE INTENTIONAL	NECK DEEP
12	SONG MACHINE SEASON ONE - STRANGE TIMEZ	GORILLAZ
13	WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS	STEPS
14	TOGETHER AT CHRISTMAS	MICHAEL BALL & ALFIE BOE
15	MUSIC PLAYED BY HUMANS	GARY BARLOW
16	YOUNG DUMB THRILLS	MCFLY
17	ORDINARY MAN	OZZY OSBOURNE
18	BRIGHTEST BLUE	ELLIE GOULDING
19	WALLS	LOUIS TOMLINSON
20	DEEP DOWN HAPPY	SPORTS TEAM
21	POSITIONS	ARIANA GRANDE
22	A CELEBRATION OF ENDINGS	BIFFY CLYRO
23	MAMA'S BOY	LANY
24	NOTHING IS TRUE & EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE	ENTER SHIKARI
25	DREAMLAND	GLASS ANIMALS
26	CONFETTI	LITTLE MIX
27	FAKE IT FLOWERS	BEABADOOBEE
28	POWER UP	AC/DC
29	GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY - AWESOME MIX 1	ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK
30	LIVE AROUND THE WORLD	QUEEN & ADAM LAMBERT
31	ZEROS	DECLAN MCKENNA
32	DEDICATED - SIDE B	CARLY RAE JEPSEN
33	FOOLISH LOVING SPACES	BLOSSOMS
34	ENERGY	DISCLOSURE
35	OPEN UP YOUR HEAD	SEA GIRLS
36	WHAT'S THE STORY MORNING GLORY	OASIS
37	THE NEON	ERASURE
38	GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY - AWESOME MIX 2	ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK
39	SEX DEATH & THE INFINITE VOID	CREEPER
40	JUNK FOOD	EASY LIFE