Vinyl Sales - Just How Well ?

[Mike]

often read 'vinyl' sales are doing well nowadays 

 

here's a bbc website  bit which looks at just how well

 

Small Data: Is lots of vinyl being sold?

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-30250358

[Guest Fatjams99]

Interesting read. I can't see vinyl reaching the heights of the 1970's, however the seed of growth has to start somewhere.

 

Sean P

[Thecivilservice]

It's increasing because of its rebranding as a luxury item, however vinyl sales really are tiny compared with the past. Something like 1 million worldwide vinyl sales last year, when you consider some hit vinyl 45s might have sold a million copies on their own.

[ajb]

shame they don't have a graph for second hand vinyl sales, might be a very different story 

[Frankie Crocker]

The vinyl that's selling well amounts to limited edition releases going to a boutique audience who have woken up to the pleasure of hearing music played on a turntable. Sure, sales of new vinyl are on an upward trend relative to previous years, but the actual volumes are paltry compared to the 60's and 70's. At least the marketing of new vinyl gives a boost to turntable production and keeps the hi-fi separates market moving. Some of the vinyl converts may well turn to second hand records in due course, so this is encouraging for the stockists who have had a tough time of it lately with many outlets closing due to falling trade.

[Cover-up]

Not read the article linked to, but all the stories "vinyl sales up by 50%, CD sales fallen by 20%" kinda things basically state that vinyl sales are up from 1% of the market-place to 1.5% of the market, and CD sales are down from 80% to 65%.

 

Politicans love spinning statistics to illustrate whatever point they're trying to (falsely) claim...

[Thecivilservice]

I think the luxury, ltd edition type vinyl market has done more harm than good, its actually killed vinyl off as a real 'working' format, along with the Dance music DJ scene going digital. As late as 2008 HMV and Virgin still had record decks and I uses to go in every Monday and listen to the new 45s, which were usually priced 99p -£1.99 in the first week of release and I'd end up buying at least 5 or 6 of them. These days a new 45 costs probably £4 or £5 or maybe more which is just a stupid price. I'm not into much current music but if I was, I wouldn't be able to afford it on vinyl.

[Spacehopper]

remember getting lots of great 'indie' sevens (Kaiser chiefs,arctic monkeys,hard fi,dead 60s) back then from virgin which is no longer there! pic sleeves different colour vinyl,10" etc,just like the good old days but then most of that type of band have now finished too...hmv today seems more about games and dvds than music

[Guest Fatjams99]

I think the luxury, ltd edition type vinyl market has done more harm than good, its actually killed vinyl off as a real 'working' format, along with the Dance music DJ scene going digital. As late as 2008 HMV and Virgin still had record decks and I uses to go in every Monday and listen to the new 45s, which were usually priced 99p -£1.99 in the first week of release and I'd end up buying at least 5 or 6 of them. These days a new 45 costs probably £4 or £5 or maybe more which is just a stupid price. I'm not into much current music but if I was, I wouldn't be able to afford it on vinyl.

No sure I fully agree with your view point here..... I remember when a bag of crisp where 5p the average price is now £0.90 - £1:20, this is down to basic economics  - what products has decreased in value since the 1960/70's?

[ajb]

of course you'll never sell as much as in the 60's and 70's, that stands to reason, thats all you could buy back then, other than a few cassette formats there wasn't a lot of choice. and why would you make any more new vinyls than you could sell, that wouldn't make economic sense either, they wouldn't be making them for long.

theres more than enough new vinyl out there if folk are prepared to put the effort in to find it, and contrary to what folk think the best stuff sells out quick, and the casual buyer wouldn't even know it existed. these are great times for collectors, if you really want them to be 

[Thecivilservice]

No sure I fully agree with your view point here..... I remember when a bag of crisp where 5p the average price is now £0.90 - £1:20, this is down to basic economics  - what products has decreased in value since the 1960/70's?

I'm talking six years, not 40 years - the cost of vinyl has at least trebled in this time, nothing to do with inflation, it is part of the deliberate re positioning of vinyl as a ltd edition, collectors format and the buy-in of this by kids and hipsters who probably don't even own a record player and old guys who sold their collection in the 90s, bought CDs, digitised their collections in the 2000s and are now re-buying the repackaged classic LPs of their youth at £30 to £40 a go.