Music

Whether vinyl sales are up or down, why should we care?

On the record.

Today, Digs reported on the misreported claims that vinyl sales were down 33% this year—apparently they’re up by 6.2%:

Starting on October 14, 2024, news outlets including Yahoo and NME reported that year-over-year, the U.S. vinyl market was down 33 percent. The data for these articles came from a weekly report from Billboard called “Market Watch,” which automatically updates with data provided by the company Luminate. Amid the vinyl revolution, this news signified a shift in buyer habits: a sales decline among vinyl for the first time in 17 years.

On October 15, Discogs contacted Chris Muratore, director of partnerships at Luminate, who confirmed that the reported data is incorrect. Vinyl sales are actually up 6.2 percent. Billboard has since added language to their “Market Watch” report, clearing up the error.

Luminate has been the gold standard for physical music sales numbers for decades. However, at the beginning of this year, the company changed its reporting process, frustrating many record store owners and industry personnel.

I think it’s good that Digs has made clear why the original reports were wrong and put the record straight. But it got me thinking: with the annual reports of vinyl sales going up and this correction, why should we care? The numbers will surely mean something to retailers looking to add/maintain vinyl stock but I don’t think it’s relevant to regular consumers. If they want vinyl copies of their favourite music, they’ll buy them.

Most of these record sales come from retailers selling new and reissued albums for very high prices. But what of second hand records in dusty shops? Are those sales up? And what about all the record stores closing? If we should care about anything, it’s the plight of local businesses not getting the money from these ever-increasing sales.

If you’re buying records, support your local stores and actually play the records. I know it’s easy to buy and forget but they’re no good stuck in the shrink wrap.

Hi, it's Luke, the editor of Sampleface! Why not subscribe to my Patreon and support the blog?

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