The UK’s vinyl comeback continues to surge as Rough Trade eye up largest store
In 2022, UK vinyl record sales grew for the 15th consecutive year, with sales rising to 5.5 million units, the highest level since 1990 when Phil Collins’ album …But Seriously was the year’s best-selling album.
As we embrace 2024 and work off the Christmas weight, a round-up on vinyl sales for 2023 has revealed that a new high has been reached. With the help of Taylor Swift’s re-recording projects and The Rolling Stones’ popular comeback album, Hackney Diamonds, 2023 saw an impressive 5.9 million units sold across the UK, beating the previous year’s total by 0.4 million.
As well as the Stones’ comeback and Taylor Swift’s ever-popular activity, The Beatles’ final single, ‘Now and Then’, and Ed Sheeran’s back-to-back album releases contributed handsomely to this 11.7% increase in record sales.
These figures reflect only the first-hand market and cap an iceberg of frenetic second-hand sales. Intriguingly, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) has also announced that CD sales began to stabilise in 2023 following several years of decline. The durable format boasts a thriving second-hand market, but we could be at the dawn of a multifarious physical media comeback.
The BPI chief executive, Dr Jo Twist OBE, has discussed the trends for 2023 in a new press statement. “Led by vinyl, the resurgence of physical product underlines the resilience of the UK music market at a time when streaming consumption continues to hit record levels,” Twist said.
“Whilst LP sales have now been on an upward path for the past 16 years, it is encouraging to see a stabilisation in demand for CD, as well as new generations of music fans falling in love with the cassette. It is giving people more choice than ever in how they enjoy their favourite music,” she added.
Taking heed of 2023’s success story, Rough Trade has announced that it plans to open a new record store in Liverpool later in 2024, which will be its biggest yet. The store will be one of six dotted around the UK.
Although no exact opening date has been confirmed, the store will be located at 50-56 Hanover Street in the city centre, covering 6500 square feet of retail space.
“We are excited to grow our UK presence with a store in Liverpool,” says Lawrence Montgomery, managing director at Rough Trade. “The city has such a rich musical heritage as well as a vibrant scene right now, which we hope to honour and represent in the best way we can.”
“The scale (both size and ambition) of the store shows our commitment and investment to the city. We can’t wait to delight customers in the record store and venue in due course,” he adds.
