It goes without saying that the advent of the digital music format, primarily MP3s and streaming services, led to what has essentially been the downfall of the CD. But what about vinyl? Interestingly enough, the Metro has reported that the two super-distant formats have actually become “unlikely musical bedfellows” over the past few years. The reason being that people are scooping up records at a rate that hasn’t been seen in nearly a decade. That’s right: Music fans are ditching plastic for wax.
Well, some of them. As with any study of a trend, you have to take relativity into account. But even so, seeing the sales numbers for vinyl in 2013 in the U.K. are staggering compared to just one year before. According to BPI, total vinyl sales reached more than 780,000 last year. That’s a 101% increase over 2012 and a 270% increase from five years ago. In fact, it’s the highest amount since 1997. The same is happening in the U.S., where there were 6 million total records sold in 2013 compared to 4.5 million the prior year.
Crazy, right? Of course. But look here: LPs only accounted for a meager 0.8% of total albums sold in 2013. Digital ate up 34.7% while CDs grabbed the remaining 64.4%. The kicker, however, is single sales. Digital dominated with 96.4% while CDs and vinyl only sold 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively.
Despite the facts pointing to digital ruling the numbers, at least one major player is seeing a shift toward more people going “post-digital.” That’s how Stephen Godfroy, co-owner of Rough Trade East in Brick Lane, sees it. He told the Metro that vinyl is allowing listeners to stay connected to music through a physical format that so many of them crave. And it’s the younger generation, he said, that has driven this growth in vinyl sales. “They are engaged with music on many levels … so they stream on their phone one minute,” he explained, “and equally buy a record the next.” This, he said, creates that post-digital landscape, because people enjoy the convenience of streaming but want an actual product to hold in their hands.
Additionally, there were simply some great projects to buy in 2013, with the top three best-selling vinyl albums coming from a legend and two acts that will hit that status in the years to come. Topping the list were the Arctic Monkeys with their acclaimed fifth full-length, ‘AM’. Following them were Daft Punk and David Bowie, who returned with killer records in ‘Random Access Memories’ and ‘The Next Day’, respectively.
As we move deeper into 2014, we’re looking forward to seeing which albums can achieve this success this year. Not only that, but can they have the same impact as those aforementioned LPs did in 2013? Only time will tell, but we expect big things from King Krule if he has it in him to release a quick follow-up to ‘6 Feet Beneath the Moon‘. We’re not saying that he should, but we really wouldn’t mind if he did, either.
Top image from mysmartbuy
Second image from wikipedia