Vinyl revival
Vinyl revival is a term being used by the media and listeners of music to describe the renewed interest and increased sales of vinyl records, or gramophone records, that has been taking place in the Western world since the year 2006.[1]
The analogue format made of polyvinyl chloride had been the main vehicle for the commercial distribution of pop music from the 1950s until the 1980s and 1990s when they were largely replaced by the Compact Disc. Since the turn of the millenium, CDs have been partially replaced by digital downloads. However, in 2007, vinyl sales made a sudden small increase, starting its comeback, and by the early 2010s it was growing at a very fast rate. In some territories, vinyl is now more popular than it has been since the late 1980s, though vinyl records still make up only a marginal percentage (<6%) of overall music sales.[2]
Along with steadily increasing vinyl sales, the vinyl revival is also evident in the renewed interest in the record shop (as seen by the creation of the annual worldwide Record Store Day), the implementation of music charts dedicated solely to vinyl, and an increased output of films (largely independent) dedicated to the vinyl record and culture.
Though many sales in vinyl are of modern artists with modern styles or genres of music, the revival has sometimes been considered to be a part of the greater revival of retro style, since many vinyl buyers are too young to remember vinyl being a primary music format.[3]
In November 2014, it was reported that over one million vinyl records had been sold in the UK since the beginning of the year. Sales had not reached this level since 1996. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) predicted that Christmas sales would bring the total for the year to around 1.2 million. However, vinyl sales were still a very small proportion of total music sales. Pink Floyd’s The Endless River became the fastest-selling UK vinyl release of 2014 – and the fastest-selling since 1997 – despite selling only 6,000 copies.[4]
History
In Canada and the United States
In 1988, the Compact Disc surpassed the gramophone record in popularity. Vinyl records experienced a sudden decline in popularity between 1988 and 1991,[5] when the major label distributors restricted their return policies, which retailers had been relying on to maintain and swap out stocks of relatively unpopular titles.
First the distributors began charging retailers more for new product if they returned unsold vinyl, and then they stopped providing any credit at all for returns. Retailers, fearing they would be stuck with anything they ordered, only ordered proven, popular titles that they knew would sell, and devoted more shelf space to CDs and cassettes. Record companies also deleted many vinyl titles from production and distribution, further undermining the availability of the format and leading to the closure of pressing plants. This rapid decline in the availability of records accelerated the format's decline in popularity, and is seen by some as a deliberate ploy to make consumers switch to CDs, which were more profitable for the record companies.[6][7][8][9]
In the United Kingdom
Similarly in the United Kingdom, the compact disc surpassed the gramophone record in popularity in the late 1980s. This started a gradual decline in vinyl record sales throughout the 1990s.
Sales
| Countries | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Global Trade Value $US (SP&LP) |
$55m | $66m | $73m | $89m | $116m[10] | $171m | – | – | – | |||||||||
| Australia (SP/LP) |
10,000 | 17,996[11] | 10,000 | 19,608[12] | 10,000 | 53,766[13] | 13,677 | 39,644[14] | 13,637 | 44,876[14] | 21,623 | 77,934[15] | – | – | – | |||
| Germany (SP&LP) |
400,000[16] | 700,000[17] | 1,200,000[17] | 635,000 (LPs only) |
700,000 (LPs only)[18][19] |
– | – | – | ||||||||||
| Finland[20] (SP&LP) |
10,301 | 13,688 | 15,747 | 27,515 | 54,970 | 47,811 | 72,480 | 82,313 [21] | – | |||||||||
| Hungary (LP) |
2,974[22] | 2,923[23] | 3,763[24] | 1,879[25] | 8,873[26] | 9,819[27] | 14,719[28] | 24,132[29] | – | |||||||||
| Japan (SP&LP) |
– | – | 103,000 | 105,000[30] | – | – | – | – | ||||||||||
| Netherlands (LP) |
– | – | 51,000 | 60,400 | 81,000[31] | 115,000[32] | – | – | – | |||||||||
| Spain (LP) |
– | 40,000 | 106,000[33] | 97,000 | 141,000[34] | 135,000[35] | – | – | – | |||||||||
| Sweden[36] (SP&LP) |
11,000 | 22,000 | 36,000 | 70,671 | 101,484 | 168,543 | 200,008 | – | – | |||||||||
| United Kingdom[37] (SP/LP) |
1,843,000 | 205,000 | 740,000 | 209,000 | 332,000 | 219,000 | 219,000 | 234,000 | 186,000 | 337,000 | – | 389,000 | – | 780,000 | – | – | – | – |
| United States (LP) |
988,000 | 1,880,000[38] | 2,500,000[39] | 2,800,000[40] | 3,800,000[41] | 4,600,000[42] | 6,100,000[43] | 9,200,000[44] | 11,900,000[45] | |||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
2012 Vinyl LP Charts
Annual Best Selling LPs in the USA
| Year | Album | Artist | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | In Rainbows | Radiohead | 25,800[55] |
| 2009 | Abbey Road | The Beatles | 34,800[56] |
| 2010 | Abbey Road | The Beatles | 35,000[57] |
| 2011 | Abbey Road | The Beatles | 41,000[58] |
| 2012 | Blunderbuss | Jack White | 34,000[59] |
| 2013 | Random Access Memories | Daft Punk | 49,000[60] |
| 2014 | Lazaretto | Jack White | 87,000[61] |
| 2015 | 25 | Adele | 116,000[62] |
Graphs
-
Global vinyl sales in US$
-
US vinyl sales in units
-
UK vinyl sales in units
-
UK vinyl sales in UK£
-
British consumer spending on music formats
Vinyl in the media
Films
| Title | Year | Country | Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| I Need That Record! The Death (Or Possible Survival) Of The Independent Record Store | 2008 | United States | Unsatisfied Films[63] |
| Last Shop Standing | 2012 | United Kingdom | Blue Hippo Media[64] |
| Sound It Out | 2012 | United Kingdom | Dogwoof[65] |
| Vinylmania: When Life Runs At 33 Revolutions Per Minute | 2012 | Italy | Pongofilms[66] |
| Vinyl Record strikes back | 2013 | Mexico | CCfilms |
| Black Canyon – Faszination Vinyl | 2014 | Germany | Jürgen Backhaus/Galileo Music Communication[67] |
Television
| Title | Year | Country | Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Joy Of The Single | 2012 | United Kingdom | BBC[68] |
Radio
| Title | Year | Country | Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| The 12 Inch Single | 2012 | United Kingdom | BBC[69] |
| 78 Revolutions | 2011 | United Kingdom | BBC[70] |
On New Year's Day 2012, British radio station BBC Radio 6 Music, solely broadcast music on the vinyl format, with records coming from the collections of presenters and DJs.[71]
Record Store Day
Record Store Day is an internationally celebrated day observed the third Saturday of April each year. Its purpose, as conceived by independent record store employee Chris Brown, is to celebrate the art of music.[72] The day brings together fans, artists, and thousands of independent record stores across the world.[73]
Record Store Day was officially founded in 2007[72] and is celebrated globally[72] with hundreds of recording and other artists participating in the day by making special appearances, performances, meet and greets with their fans, the holding of art exhibits, and the issuing of special vinyl and CD releases along with other promotional products to mark the occasion.
In 2013, for the week of Record Store Day in the United Kingdom, 68,936 records were sold (an 86.5% rise from 36,957 in 2012). This can be broken down into 1,249 7" albums, 25,100 12" albums, 27,042 7" singles and 15,545 12" singles.[74]
Charts
UK Official Record Store Chart
The Official Record Store Chart is a weekly music chart based on physical sales of albums in almost 100 independent record stores in the United Kingdom.[75][76] It is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), and each week's number one is first announced on Sunday evenings on the OCC's official website.
The chart's launch was first announced by the OCC on 17 April 2012[77] – at the time, British record stores were selling 4.5 million albums per year, and were contributing towards 95 per cent of the country's total vinyl sales.
References
- ↑ The Independent – The Rapacity Of The Record Revival
- ↑
- ↑ Universal Music – Megan White Vinyl
- ↑ Lee, Dave (27 November 2014). "Vinyl record sales hit 18-year high". BBC News. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
- ↑ Sources vary on the actual dates.
- ↑ Browne, David (October 4, 1991). "A Vinyl Farewell". Entertainment Weekly (86).
- ↑ Souvignier, Todd (2004). The World of DJs and the Turntable Culture. Hal Leonard Corporation. pp. 41–42. ISBN 978-0-634-05833-2.
- ↑ Negativland. "Shiny, Aluminum, Plastic, and Digital". Retrieved 2008-11-06.
- ↑ Plasketes, George (1992). "Romancing the Record: The Vinyl De-Evolution and Subcultural Evolution". Journal of Popular Culture 26 (1): 110,112. doi:10.1111/j.0022-3840.1992.00109.x.
- 1 2 The Register – The Indestructible Music Format
- ↑ ARIA – 2007 Sales
- ↑ ARIA – 2009 Sales
- ↑ ARIA – 2009/2010 Sales
- 1 2 ARIA – 2010/2011 Sales
- ↑ ARIA – 2012 Sales
- ↑ Musikindustrie – BVMI official figures
- 1 2 Billboard – BVMI Germany 2009 Figures
- ↑ Heise – BVMI 2011 Figures
- ↑ Miz – Musikwirtschaft
- ↑ IFPI – Sales 2002–2013 Sales
- ↑
- ↑ MAHASZ – 2007 Sales
- ↑ MAHASZ – 2008 Sales
- ↑ MAHASZ – 2009 Sales
- ↑ MAHASZ – 2010 Sales
- ↑ MAHASZ – 2011 Sales
- ↑ MAHASZ – 2012 Sales
- ↑ MAHASZ – 2013 Sales
- ↑ MAHASZ – 2014 Sales
- ↑ RIAJ – 2010 Sales
- ↑ NVPI – Marktinformatie
- ↑ Verkoopstijging vinyl grotendeels te danken aan Record Store Day
- ↑ Promusicae – 2008/2009 Figures
- ↑ Promusicae – 2010/2011 Figures
- ↑ DE LA MUSICA 2012_WEB_ok.pdf Promusicae – 2011/2012 Figures
- ↑
- ↑ BPI – All UK figures 2007–2013
- ↑ Rolling Stones – Radiohead/NMH Help Vinyl Sales
- ↑ Sonicstate – Vinyl LP Sales Up 33%
- ↑ Rolling Stone – Vinyl Sales
- ↑ Hits Daily Double – THE FALL & RISE OF THE VINYL ALBUM
- ↑ Digital Music News – United States 2012 Vinyl Sales
- ↑ Hits Daily Double – THE FALL & RISE OF THE VINYL ALBUM
- ↑ Hits Daily Double – THE FALL & RISE OF THE VINYL ALBUM
- ↑ 2015 NIELSEN MUSIC U.S. REPORT
- ↑ Billboard – German Figures
- ↑ Kunststoffe International – Revival On The Black Market
- ↑ New York Times – Building A House Of Wax In Cleveland
- ↑ Hypebot – US Sales Could Be 6X Higher
- ↑ CMU – Soundscan May Be Under Reporting
- ↑ News Wire NZ – Increase In Vinyl In Auckland
- ↑ Numerama – Face Au CD En Declin
- ↑ Venturebeat – US Music Sales Grew In 2012
- ↑ Hypebot – Top 10 Vinyl Albums 2012
- ↑ Rolling Stone – Abbey Road Sales
- ↑ Rolling Stone – Abbey Road Sales
- ↑ Houston Press – Record Sales Down
- ↑ Billboard – 2012 Best Selling Albums
- ↑ Billboard – 2012 Best Selling Albums
- ↑ Billboard – Vinyl Album Sales Hit High
- ↑ Billboard – Vinyl Album Sales Hit High
- ↑ 2015 NIELSEN MUSIC U.S. REPORT
- ↑ I Need That Record!
- ↑ Last Shop Standing
- ↑ Sound It Out
- ↑ Vinylmania
- ↑ Black Canyon – Faszination Vinyl
- ↑ BBC – Joy of the Single
- ↑ BBC – The 12 Inch Single
- ↑ BBC – 78 Revolutions
- ↑ The Guardian – BBC Radio 6 Music Vinyl New Years Day
- 1 2 3 About Record Store Day
- ↑ Passey, Brian (February 26, 2011). "Vinyl records spin back into vogue". USA Today. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
- ↑ Musicweek – Record Store Day Vinyl 2013
- ↑ "New chart for record shop sales". The Independent (Independent News & Media). 18 April 2012. ISSN 0951-9467. OCLC 185201487. Archived from the original on 3 May 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ↑ "Independent record store chart launched in the UK". London: BBC News. 17 April 2012. Archived from the original on 3 May 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ↑ Kreisler, Laura (17 April 2012). "The new Official Record Store Chart is go!". London: Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 3 May 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
External links
- Al Jazeera news report on the world's oldest record shop
- Daily Mail article on vinyl resurgence and the vinyl manufacturing process