Independent labels’ share of the U.K. recorded-music market is projected to rise for a fifth consecutive year in 2022. The sector is up 6.3% YTD over 2021.

In the first 10 months of the year, independently released music made up 28.6% of the U.K. music market, according to an analysis by the BPI. That’s up from 26.9% for the whole of 2021 and almost a third (30%) up from 2017, when independents claimed a 22.1% share.

Indie-label marketshare has grown year-over-year in 2022 in sales and streams but has been particularly strong in the albums market. There, independents accounted for 40.5% of vinyl and CD sales in October. The same period last year tallied a 32.2% share.

This year’s sales were led by Arctic Monkeys’ seventh studio album, The Car (Domino). The set posted one of the highest weekly vinyl-LP sales figures of the century, surpassing 100k in its first two weeks, excluding streaming.

The Car is among the year’s top-selling albums, as is the self-titled debut from fellow Domino signing Wet Leg, which has sold more than 55k copies on CD, vinyl and cassette YTD in the U.K. Including streams, it’s the biggest debut album released in 2022.

Here's a sign of how dominant catalog is: Four albums in the best-selling independent Top 10 YTD were released this year, while just two 2022 releases make the equivalent singles list.

Said Geoff Taylor, outgoing chief executive of the BPI, BRIT Awards & Mercury Prize, “This growth is built on a rich tapestry of talent, from singer-songwriters and rock groups to pop stars and rappers, all supported by a network of hundreds of indie labels creating further diversity in the market and giving artists real choice in how to release their music."

Official Independent Albums Chart 2022 to date

Arctic Monkeys, AM (Domino Recordings)
Arctic Monkeys, The Car (Domino Recordings)
Central Cee, 23 (Central Cee)
Arctic Monkeys, Whatever People Say I Am That’s What I’m Not (Domino Recordings)
Wet Leg, Wet Leg (Domino Recordings)
Adele, 25 (XL Recordings)
Adele, 21 (XL Recordings)
Arctic Monkeys, Favourite Worst Nightmare (Domino Recordings)
The 1975, Being Funny in a Foreign Language (Dirty Hit)
Gerry Cinnamon, The Bonny (Little Runaway)

Official Independent Singles Chart 2022 to date

Arctic Monkeys, “505” (Domino Recordings)
Arctic Monkeys, “Do I Wanna Know” (Domino Recordings)
Central Cee, “Doja” (Central Cee)
Russ Millions f/Buni & YV, “Reggae & Calypso” (One of a Kind Music)
Arctic Monkeys, “Why D’You Only Call Me When You’re High” (Domino Recordings)
Adele, “Someone Like You” (XL Recordings)
Wilkinson & Issey Cross, “Used to This” (BMG)
D.O.D & Carla Monroe, “Still Sleepless” (Axtone)
Passenger, “Let Her Go” (Nettwerk)
Arctic Monkeys, “Fluorescent Adolescent” (Domino Recordings)