National Album Day will return on Saturday, October 18, 2025 with this year’s theme celebrating rock.
It follows previous editions that, among other themes, have focused on the albums of the ’90s, women in music, debut albums and, just last year, great British groups.
It comes amid signs of a resurgence for UK rock including a No.1 for Those Damn Crows, huge streaming volumes for Sleep Token, continuing global success for Bring Me The Horizon and the rise of acts such as Nova Twins.
The announcement of National Album Day 2025 also references the impact of indie rock acts such as Wet Leg, The Last Dinner Party and Sprints.
National Album Day is organised jointly by labels trade body the BPI and ERA, the digital entertainment and retail association behind Record Store Day.
Presented in association with official broadcast partner BBC Radio 2 and now in its eighth year since launching in 2018, National Album Day sees the music community come together to celebrate and promote the art of the album. It will pay tribute to artists who tell their stories behind significant and influential bodies of work.
The October 18 date for National Album Day falls in the same week as the Mercury Prize, which also celebrates the album format, and this year takes place in Newcastle-upon-Tyne (October 16).
National Album Day 2024 saw the annual campaign’s biggest ever BBC Radio 2 support, which included a Johnny Marr-presented series on great British groups, a greatest British groups poll topped by The Beatles, and Florence + The Machine’s Lungs prom on BBC Two.
Special National Album Day product releases accounted for one in five albums sold, and half the weekend’s Top 40 vinyl chart, including six of the Top 10 and 11 of the Top 20.
Since its launch, National Album Day has been supported by a broad range of artist champions, including Kylie Minogue, Joy Crookes, Sharleen Spiteri, Lewis Capaldi, Mark Ronson, La Roux, Elbow, Paloma Faith, Blossoms, Alice Cooper, Novelist, Tom Odell, Declan McKenna, Mahalia, Toyah Willcox, Tricky, Alex Kapranos, and Jazzie B.
Last year Catherine Marks, Courteeners, Jeff Wayne, Nova Twins, Soul II Soul and Travis were among the passionate advocates of the album format.
National Album Day is a unique collaboration between streaming services, retailers and the record industry to highlight the uniquely satisfying characteristics of the album format
Kim Bayley
With a week-long build up, National Album Day has hosted a variety of activities such as listening events with album platforms including Classic Album Sundays, Pitchblack Playback, The Record Club, Tape Notes and Tim’s Listening Parties. There have also been live performances, including with charity partner War Child, in-store artist appearances and record store promotions, V&A Museum artist in-conversations, and album sleeve artwork exhibitions and street art murals.
Dr Jo Twist OBE, BPI chief executive, said: “National Album Day celebrates not just the art of the album, but recognises also the format’s continuing importance at the heart of our music ecosystem and artists being able to tell their stories through a much-loved medium that remains central to so many people’s lives. We invite anyone with a love of the album, and this year with a passion for rock music to take part and contribute.”
Kim Bayley, ERA chief executive, said: “At a time when music’s focus is on track-based listening, National Album Day is a unique collaboration between the nation’s streaming services and retailers and the record industry to highlight the uniquely satisfying characteristics of the album format. We are delighted once again to collaborate with the BPI and BBC on what already looks like being the biggest and best National Album Day yet.”
Iain McNay, Cherry Red Records founder and chairman, said: “The creativity, genius, commitment and passion that goes into making an album can be extraordinary and is often forgotten in our increasingly track-driven culture that has emerged over the past years. The message behind National Album Day is simple: sit down and play an album, new or old, and really, really listen. There can be so much there you have never heard before. It is like a discovery that can be so special and magical and… it might even change your life.”
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