Olivia Dean has been releasing music publicly since late 2018, so she’s been making and putting out music for about 7–8 years as of early 2026.

Quick Scoop: How long has Olivia Dean been making music?

  • She started writing her own songs at around 16, while still in school, teaching herself guitar and piano.
  • Her first self‑released single, “Reason to Stay,” came out in October 2018, marking the real start of her professional recording career.
  • In 2019 she featured on Rudimental’s track “Adrenaline” and released her early EP OK Love You Bye , which pushed her further into the UK music scene.
  • Since then, she’s continued steadily: multiple EPs, her debut album Messy in 2023, and her second album The Art of Loving in 2025, which cemented her as a major breakthrough artist.

So, depending on where you start the clock:

  • From her first single (2018): around 7–8 years of making and releasing music.
  • From her mid‑teens songwriting at 16: roughly a decade of actively writing music.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.