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Vinyl records have outsold CDs for first time in 36 years

Home> Music

Published 21:36 10 Mar 2023 GMT

Vinyl records have outsold CDs for first time in 36 years

Old school is very much back in fashion.

Emma Guinness

Emma Guinness

If you're a music fan, then you'll know that vinyl has been making a seismic comeback... but it's actually a lot bigger than you might think.

New figures from the Recording Industry Association of America's year-end report have shown that vinyl is now outselling CDs for the first time in 36 years.

This marks the culmination of over a decade's worth of growth in vinyl sales, which have been climbing steadily over the past 16 years.

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To put the popularity of the format into context, in 2022, 41 million vinyl records were sold compared to 33 million CDs.

Vinyl is outselling CDs for the first time in decades.
Pexels

RIAA Chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier said the study is proof that vinyl is 'cementing its role as a fixture of the modern music marketplace'.

"Music lovers clearly can't get enough of the high-quality sound and tangible connection to artists vinyl delivers and labels have squarely met that demand with a steady stream of exclusives, special reissues, and beautifully crafted packages and discs," he said.

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Needless to say, the music industry is now predominantly driven by streaming on platforms like Spotify, but this is proof that people still enjoy owning physical copies of their music too.

Streaming made up 84 percent of the music industry's revenue in the report.

Vinyl sales have slowly but surely been increasing.
Recording Industry Association of America

Vinyl revenue, meanwhile, was still significant and reached $1.2 billion alone in 2022 - reflecting a growth of 17 percent in this area.

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The sale of CDs, perhaps unsurprisingly, continued to fall in 2022 and the RIAA reported that it dropped by 18 percent to $483 million.

The last time vinyl was this popular was way back in 1987, but clearly old school is very much back on trend.

This has been partially fuelled by artists' marketing campaigns, which have promoted this comparatively vintage way of listening to music.

There's been a massive shift in people's buying habits.
Pexels

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In fact, the work of pop artists like Adele and Taylor Swift meant that there was so much demand for vinyl that producers struggled to press the records fast enough as so many years had passed since they were last popular.

The music industry has become more profitable in recent years - specifically since 2016 - after the rise of streaming and online piracy caused profits to take a massive hit.

The RIAA revealed that in 2022, two of the most popular options, Spotify and Apple music, brought in $10.2 billion from 92 million subscribers - which is the first time their profits have topped $10 billion.

Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock

Topics: News, Music

Emma Guinness
Emma Guinness

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