Another record-breaking year for vinyl.
UK sales of vinyl albums have already exceeded their 2013 total, according to the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA).
From January to September, 844,122 albums were sold on vinyl in the UK – already way beyond 2013′s total of 829,243 sales. Final sale figures for 2014 are expected to easily surpass 1 million given three months of sales remain, plus the seasonal effect on consumption as Christmas looms.
“This is an extraordinary turnaround,” commented ERA chief Kim Baley. “Independent retailers were first to identify the untapped potential for vinyl and made it the focus of Record Store Day. With record labels now making more vinyl available, this trend shows no sign of abating.”
The biggest-selling vinyl album of 2014 to date is Arctic Monkeys’s 2013 album AM, followed by Jack White’s Lazaretto and, er, Oasis’s Definitely Maybe.
Although vinyl still makes up a tiny proportion of total phsyical sales, with CDs still making up 97% of physical album sales, the news confirms the continued boom in the vinyl market.
Keep up to date with all the best vinyl releases with FACT’s weekly column from our pals at Phonica Records in Soho. [via ERA]
