Vinyl Records Are Back

November 28

	This year vinyl record sales will hit 18-year high in UK, and the rise is matching the US sales also. Are the vinyl records back? Here are some stats – more than 1 million records are sold in UK so far this year, and it is expected that number to hit 1.2 million. This will be the highest level since 1997. And this is not only UK phenomenon. According to the latest numbers from Nielsen Soundscan’s mid-year report, vinyl record sales in the US were up more than 40% in the first six months of 2014, with 4 million units sold. In 2013, vinyl sales hit their highest level since at least 1991, with 6 million units sold. At the current pace, this year’s sales are on track to beat that again quite easily. At the same time, total album sales in the U.S. were down almost 15 percent to 121 million units, due to falling sales of CDs and digital albums. So who’s buying vinyl? The market appeared to be split into two distinct groups - nostalgic oldsters looking to relive their youth or record collectors in the hunt for a rare album and younger people, who has adopted vinyl as an antidote to the own-nothing trend of services like iTunes and Spotify. The common thing between these two groups is that they crave a tangible product that gives them original artwork, high audio quality, and purity of sound. Although the vinyl record sales represent only 3 percent of total album sales, their rapid growth last years is a trend from which the artists can benefit and increase their profits. If you are considering adding vinyl to your album release versions, please remember: Each different album version, like vinyl, CD, or whole album download, requires a different UPC or EAN code for sales and Billboard listing. Sources: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30216638 http://qz.com/232845/the-music-industrys-newfangled-growth-business-vinyl-records/ http://www.newsweek.com/2014/11/14/two-numbers-vinyl-records-are-back-282604.html