The Brits came and conquered UK album charts in 2014

UK acts represented the largest share of albums sold in the country in 2014, the biggest slice taken since the heyday of Britpop in 1997, according to the Official Charts Company data released by industry trade organisation BPI.

The total Top 10 best-selling albums last year saw British acts account for more than half (53.5 %) of all music sold in Britain.

The soaring sales of albums released by Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith (pictured), George Ezra, Paolo Nutini, Coldplay and Paloma Faith, among others, established the reign of British recordings. Sheeran and Smith, in particular, have been collecting awards galore, including the recent BRIT Awards.

The last time home-grown talent dominated the Official Albums Chart was in 1997 when they accounted for 58.3% of albums sold then. That was the year the Spice Girls (and their “Girl Power” social statements), Oasis, The Prodigy, Radiohead and The Verve ruled the British music waves.

Meanwhile, in second place by nationality came the US, with albums originating from that market accounting for just over one third (34.3%) of all recorded music bought in the UK in 2014.

Canada landed the third place with 2.8% of the albums market, driven by the popularity of Michael Bublé recordings. At No. 4 was Ireland, thanks to the hits by Dublin rock groups Kodaline and The Script. Irish albums commanded a 2.2% album-sales share (up from 1.8%).

And newcomers 5 Seconds of Summer and rapper Iggy Azalea, famous for the hit Fancy, contributed to Australia landing the No.5 spot.
For more details about album sales market share, visit the BPI’s website here.

[Juliana Koranteng]