Label executives have spoken about creating “unique” release strategies, as Music Week research shows a dip in the number of successful debut LPs.

There were just two official 2019 UK debuts in the Top 200 at the halfway stage – Lewis Capaldi’s Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent (EMI, No.2 with 229,340 sales, according to the Official Charts Company) and Tom Walker’s What a Time To Be Alive (Relentless, No.8, 167,718).

However, both made a stronger showing than Anne-Marie’s Speak ...