Record Store Day and Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department deliver highest weekly vinyl sales in 30 years

Official Charts Company data shows a huge spike in vinyl sales

Taylor Swift The Tortured Poets Department Record Store Day

UK vinyl sales enjoyed their highest weekly total in 30 years thanks to Record Store Day 2024 and the release of Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department, new analysis by ERA (Entertainment Retail Association) reveals.

The synchronicity of 2024's annual Record Store Day, which took place on April 20, and Taylor's record-breaking release saw vinyl sales soar, data from Official Charts Company shows.

269,134 vinyl albums and 37,656 vinyl singles were shifted in chart week 17, totalling 306,791. This makes it the highest figure since the current Official Charts Company tracking began in week five 1994.

Taylor's The Tortured Poets Department, which currently reigns atop the Official Albums Chart, made up just under a quarter (24.7%) of chart week 17's total vinyl sales.

MORE: The Official best-selling vinyl albums and singles of 2024 so far

Sales of vinyl albums exclusive to independent record shops for Record Store Day accounted for an estimated 37.2%.

Kim Bayley, CEO of ERA, said: "Indie record shops were first to realise that the growth of streaming would paradoxically provide an opportunity for the most physical of physical formats, and vinyl has sat at the heart of Record Store Day’s celebration of indie record shop culture since 2008."

Acknowledging the part Taylor's release played in the spike, Kim added: "Taylor Swift has long been a supporter of indie record stores and served as Record Store Day’s global ambassador in 2022.

"Her support has undoubtedly helped drive even more younger fans to indie record shops, helping sustain the stores which are one of the most vibrant elements of the music ecosystem."

Taylor Swift The Tortured Poets Department

MORE: Number of independent record shops in UK reaches 10-year high

2023 marked the 16th consecutive year of growth for vinyl, with four of the Top 10 biggest weeks for the format in the past 30 years have come in the past 12 months.

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The UK's fastest-selling vinyl albums since 1994

	Title	Artist	Week 1 vinyl sales
1	The Tortured Poets Department	Taylor Swift	66,388
2	Midnights	Taylor Swift	61,948
3	1989 (Taylor's Version)	Taylor Swift	61,791
4	The Car	Arctic Monkeys	37,866
5	Harry's House	Harry Styles	36,041
6	Voyage	Abba	29,891
7	C'mon You Know	Liam Gallagher	29,558
8	Hackney Diamonds	Rolling Stones	27,371
9	Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino	Arctic Monkeys	24,478
10	Speak Now (Taylor's Version)	Taylor Swift	22,777