The vinyl album has made a surprising yet steady comeback into the music space, due to the growing enthusiasm for them among the younger demographic. Feeding this craze, is the fact that a wide mix of genres that are popular among these music lovers and buyers of that demographic, are being produced on vinyl albums. These include genres such as rock, classical, and jazz, from music eras ranging from famous acts of the 50’s-70’s like the Beatles and Fleetwood Mac to contemporary artists such as Taylor Swift and Lana De Rey.
Compared to the 60s and 70s, and prior to 2022, vinyl recordings are far behind in terms of sales. However, last year, it came second place among the top 5 selling physical entertainment formats in the UK, including PlayStation, seeing a 12.2% sales increase from 2021, above CD’s and DVD’s which saw a considerable decrease in sales at –8.1% and –19.9% respectively. CD’s overall have seen a steady decline in purchases over recent years due to the ever-increasing popularity of music streaming via mega music streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple, & Amazon Music. It has also been reported by the BBC that in 2022, vinyl albums accounted for £119.5m revenue in sales, a £30m difference from CDs at £89.5m. This marks the first time since 1987 that vinyl albums outsold CD units.
Gennaro Castaldo, the Director of Communications at the British Phonographic Industry noted of this development that “The nation’s (UK’s) love affair with vinyl shows no sign of relenting –…”
So, what is behind the enthusiasm?
Castaldo also gives the insight, “…Vinyl is appealing to fans of all ages and backgrounds because it feels like the ultimate expression of the artist’s craft.”
The Interactive Touch
This interesting resurgence in vinyl album sales has also been credited to its interactivity. However, the validity of whether the sound quality of vinyl albums is comparable to that of digital music has been long debated. According to Decker & Sons, however, vinyl recordings can be the closest a listener can get to a live performance, and the real sound of the artist without being in an actual live setting.
Another plausible reason is the desire of younger fans to have lasting keepsakes of their favourite artist’s music. While there is a plethora of music that has been made available at the touch of a button, in a world dominated by streaming & technology, it seems that the more options there are, the more people feel like they lose the personal connection to their favourite music and artists.
The Reader’s Digest noted that another factor in the renewed interest in vinyl albums among younger people, may be the therapeutic processes of ‘creating one’s enjoyment’ of their favourite artist’s music by taking simple actions such as positioning the vinyl record correctly on the player, and the ability to listen to an artist’s whole album in one sitting, rather than hopping from one song to another by different artists which has been made possible with music streaming.
While vinyl albums may not attain their heydays glory in sales, the growing enthusiasm among the UK’s youth for vinyl albums is one trend with an effect that is hard to ignore in a digitally dominated world.