Luminate confirms vinyl sales have not dropped 33% this year
Update: A representative from Luminate, the data company behind Billboard‘s music consumption reports, explained that a recent change in how vinyl sales from independent retailers are counted makes it inaccurate to compare 2024 vinyl sales with previous years. However, Luminate noted that US vinyl sales have risen by 6.2% when comparing 2023 and 2024 data through Q3, excluding independent retail figures from both years.
The great vinyl revival of the 2010s has proved itself to be far more than a passing trend. Year after year, the once-outdated medium has outsold every other physical music format. However, there has been evidence that interest in vinyl records has begun to wane, with this year’s sales figures down a significant portion in comparison to 2023. Is this officially the end of vinyl’s relevancy in the modern music market, or is it simply a sign of the times?
Well, it is first important to note that vinyl sales are still up tenfold on what they were prior to the revival. It is also worth noting that vinyl records still dominate in sales over every other form of physical music media, including CDs. However, this year has also witnessed an increase of 7% in the use of on-demand streaming services, which coincides with a reported 33% decrease in vinyl record sales.
According to a report by Billboard, vinyl record sales have fallen dramatically from 34.9million units last year to only 23.3 million this year. While this is not exactly disastrous for the format, as it shows there is still a huge market for vinyl, it might be representative of a worrying downward trend, not just for vinyl but for the music industry as a whole.
Anyone who has been into a record shop recently will be all too aware that vinyl records are rapidly increasing in price. While the format has rarely been classed as affordable since its resurgence over the past decade, it is now getting to the point where new albums can cost anywhere from £25 to £40.
The reasons for this uptake in price are myriad, including a lack of available pressing plants and even difficulty in acquiring the raw materials that vinyl records are made of. The production costs associated with pressing vinyl have skyrocketed since the pandemic as the result of both increased demand for the product and inflation. Either way, it seems the drop in sales for records is more indicative of a collective lack of disposable income rather than a fatigue with the format itself.
Indeed, if you look across all aspects of the music industry, it is not just vinyl which is suffering. As music festivals begin to release tickets for 2025, many fans are finding that ticket prices have increased, and they can no longer afford to spend that money; the same goes for all live music shows and physical music formats.
Ultimately, this decrease in sales likely will not spell the end for vinyl as a format or record collecting as a hobby. The sales figures are significant enough to keep the business going for some time. However, if this downward trend continues year on year, it could spell disaster both for the vinyl business and the music industry in general.
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