Cassette sales in UK hit 15-year high

Cassette sales have hit a 15-year high, driven by album releases from the likes of Billie Eilish and The 1975.

Cassette sales are back on the rise. Picture: MOHD RASFAN/AFP/Getty Images

Sales remain small in comparison to downloads and streams, accounting for only 0.2 per cent of the albums market, according to music industry trade body the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

However, the number of cassettes sold has increased 112 per cent year-on-year and the final three months of 2018 saw the highest sales in the UK since 2004.

So far this year 36,000 cassettes have been sold, according to the BPI and the Official Charts Company. Listeners’ desire for retro collectables appears to be behind the trend. The 20 best-selling cassette artists feature those with a devoted fan base interested in tangible items such as vinyl.