Vinyl Sales up 55%: Retro tech on the rise

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Sales of Vinyl music rose a thumping 55% in the first half of this year pushed up by Radiohead and Adele according to data from the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA).

Vinyl album sales have been rising in the UK every year since 2006, but this is one of the strongest rises. The trend is the same in the US too: Nielsen showed vinyl sales up 41% in the US in the same period.

Why are we buying it? Well it could be because it sounds “warm”, because we like the big pictures on the front, or just because we’re really nostalgic.

Kim Bayley, Director General of ERA, said:

“Vinyl may still be a niche format, but it is growing fast. Whether it is the “warmer” sound many music fans appreciate, the large-scale artwork of a 12″ sleeve or its sheer retro appeal, vinyl seems to be capturing the imagination of buyers despite the fact it typically costs twice as much as a CD containing exactly the same music…Much of the focus in the music industry has been on cutting prices, partly in response to the rise of internet piracy. The success of vinyl shows music buyers will pay a premium if we deliver them a package they really love.”

The top ten biggest sellers on vinyl were all recent releases.

Top 10 Vinyl Albums Jan-June 2011
Radiohead – The King of Limbs
Beady Eye – Different Gear Still Speeding
Adele – 21
Arctic Monkeys – Suck It And See
Elbow – Build A Rocket Boys
Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues
Foo Fighters – Wasting Light
Noah & The Whale – Last Night On Earth
Vaccines – What Did You Expect From The Vaccines
Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More

Oh Mumford and Sons…

[via DrownedinSound]
Anna Leach

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