Vinyl sales expected to overtake CDs for first time in over 30 years
Wax is back
Vinyl sales are expected to take over CD sales for the first time since 1986.
After it was reported in March this year that vinyl sales grew by 3.7% in 2018, the RIAA's 2019 mid-year report, released last Thursday, showed that vinyl record sales were responsible for generating $224.1 million in sales on 8.6 million units. In contrast, 18.6 million CDs were sold, with a total revenue of $247.9 million.
The purchase of vinyl has been steadily seeing an increase in popularity over the last decade. In February this year, new research conducted alongside online record shop Norman Records uncovered that vinyl sales increased fivefold in the period from 2013 to the end of 2018.
16.8 million records were sold in the United States last year, accounting for 11.9% of album sales.
Read DJ Mag's feature on whether vinyl-only culture is encouraging elitism in electronic music.
