Sales of vinyl albums hit £2.4m during last week (w/c 28 November), overtaking the amount of weekly download sales for the first time, new figures show.
According to the Entertainment Retailers’ Association (ERA), vinyl sales of £2.4m were higher than the £2.1m made from the sales of digital music.
In 2015, during the same week, vinyl album sales were £1.2m while digital accounted for £4.4m.
Kim Bayley, chief executive of the ERA, told the Guardian that the rise was partly due to an increase in the number of stockists of vinyl in the UK with more high street retailers now selling the format.
She said: ‘The vast majority of releases are coming out in vinyl now. It used to be that only heritage acts or niche albums would come out as a record, but now everything does - pop albums, compilations, film soundtracks, all genres.’
‘We have a new generation buying vinyl, lots of teenagers and lots of people under 25, who now want to buy their favourite artists on vinyl and have something a bit more tangible, a bit more collectible. People have become keen to support their favourite artists by buying into that ownership concept. It’s very difficult to demonstrate your love of an artist if you don’t have something to hold on to.’
The figures also showed that a price difference between the formats contributed to the statistics.
According to the ERA, 120,000 vinyl albums were sold last week, compared with 295,000 digital ones.
Recent market predictions from the organisation forecast that vinyl sales will surpass 3m units by the end of 2016, marking a 30 year sales high for the format.
According to the Entertainment Retailers’ Association (ERA), vinyl sales of £2.4m were higher than the £2.1m made from the sales of digital music.
In 2015, during the same week, vinyl album sales were £1.2m while digital accounted for £4.4m.
Kim Bayley, chief executive of the ERA, told the Guardian that the rise was partly due to an increase in the number of stockists of vinyl in the UK with more high street retailers now selling the format.
She said: ‘The vast majority of releases are coming out in vinyl now. It used to be that only heritage acts or niche albums would come out as a record, but now everything does - pop albums, compilations, film soundtracks, all genres.’
‘We have a new generation buying vinyl, lots of teenagers and lots of people under 25, who now want to buy their favourite artists on vinyl and have something a bit more tangible, a bit more collectible. People have become keen to support their favourite artists by buying into that ownership concept. It’s very difficult to demonstrate your love of an artist if you don’t have something to hold on to.’
The figures also showed that a price difference between the formats contributed to the statistics.
According to the ERA, 120,000 vinyl albums were sold last week, compared with 295,000 digital ones.
Recent market predictions from the organisation forecast that vinyl sales will surpass 3m units by the end of 2016, marking a 30 year sales high for the format.
