Current trends show that by year’s end, vinyl record sales will surpass compact disc sales for the first time in 33 years, according to the RIAA Music Revenues Report released last month.
The 2018 report illustrated a decline in CD sales as well, which dipped below $1 billion in sales for the first time since 1986. This year’s report shows continued stagnation as well, while vinyl record sales remain on their projection upward.
These numbers come at a time when streaming music has become the main way people listen to music. In fact, streaming accounts for 80% of the music industry’s revenue, which can be attributed to the fact that the convenience and affordability once found in CDs is now being found in digital formats, according to Brandon Anderson, director of Graywhale Entertainment in Salt Lake City.
Why it happens: In a digital streaming world, if people purchase physical music at all, they will purchase an LP for the big cover artwork, sound quality, interactivity and collectability over the more disposable CD format, Anderson said.
- The higher price point of records, which average $25, also accounts for the higher sales numbers for records, according to Anderson. This is one reason that a high percentage of customers who buy records are aged 30-45 since they have more money to invest in this form of entertainment, Anderson said.
- But lower-income individuals find that record collecting adds value to their life as well and is more affordable entertainment than something like an expensive trip, Anderson said.
- And there is usually a sea of used records to choose from for under $5 at most record stores, he said.
- Anderson also attributed this pattern to the 30-45 demographic because of their internet-less upbringing, which required them to engage with things “in an analog way.”
Next: Now, younger generations, while accustomed to the digital way of life, are discovering the appeal of this method of “participating actively” in music, Anderson said.
Anderson, like many record collectors everywhere, can’t resist the slower, intimate process of slipping a heavy record out of its beautifully-decorated sleeve and placing the needle to reveal the sound of warm, crackly vinyl.