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Artist News Business News Labels & Publishers
Indie label sector increasing UK market share again this year
By Chris Cooke | Published on Monday 14 November 2022
The independent label community is set to grow its share of the UK recorded music market this year, for the fifth year running, according to new number crunching of Official Charts Company data by record label trade body BPI.
According to the BPI’s maths, independently-released tracks have accounted for 28.6% of music consumption in the UK so far this year. That’s up from 26.9% for the whole of 2021 and just 22.1% back in 2017.
Of course these days the “independently-released” category includes all the music put out by conventional independent record companies, as well as tracks released by artists who basically run their own labels, including those working with DIY distributors.
The indie sector scores even higher when it comes to album consumption, whether that’s the sale of CDs and vinyl records, or when streaming data is crunched on an albums basis. Indies accounted for 40.5% of album consumption last month, though that stat was boosted somewhat by the release of latest Arctic Monkeys album ‘The Car’ by Domino.
Commenting on the new stats, BPI boss Geoff Taylor says: “It’s a sign of just how vibrant and diverse the UK music industry is that independent labels are set to increase their share of the market for a fifth successive year in 2022”.
“This growth is built on a rich tapestry of talent, from singer-songwriters and rock groups to pop stars and rappers”, he adds, “all supported by a network of hundreds of indie labels who are creating further diversity in the market and giving artists real choice in how to release their music”.
If you’re interested, here’s the ten best performing independently-released albums and tracks of the 2022 so far, further demonstrating the impact the Arctic Monkeys have on all this…
Official Independent Albums Chart 2022
1. Arctic Monkeys – AM (Domino Recordings)
2. Arctic Monkeys – The Car (Domino Recordings)
3. Central Cee – 23 (Central Cee)
4. Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am That’s What I’m Not (Domino Recordings)
5. Wet Leg – Wet Leg (Domino Recordings)
6. Adele – 25 (XL Recordings)
7. Adele – 21 (XL Recordings)
8. Arctic Monkeys – Favourite Worst Nightmare (Domino Recordings)
9. The 1975 – Being Funny In A Foreign Language (Dirty Hit)
10. Gerry Cinnamon – The Bonny (Little Runaway)
Official Independent Singles Chart 2022
1. Arctic Monkeys – 505 (Domino Recordings)
2. Arctic Monkeys – Do I Wanna Know (Domino Recordings)
3. Central Cee – Doja (Central Cee)
4. Russ Millions – One Of A Kind Presents Reggae & Calypso (feat Buni & YV) (One Of A Kind Music)
5. Arctic Monkeys – Why D’you Only Call Me When You’re High (Domino Recordings)
6. Adele – Someone Like You (XL Recordings)
7. Wilkinson & Issey Cross – Used To This (BMG)
8. Dod & Carla Monroe – Still Sleepless (Axtone)
9. Passenger – Let Her Go (Nettwerk)
10. Arctic Monkeys – Fluorescent Adolescent (Domino Recordings)
