Urban Outfitters second to Amazon in vinyl sales, says Billboard

Billboard has reported it surveyed US labels, distributors and wholesalers who have said Urban Outfitters isn’t in fact the world’s #1 seller of vinyl.

TMN covered the news after it was reported Urban Outfitter’s Chief Administrative Officer Calvin Hollinger told Wall Street analysts, “Music is very, very important to the Urban customer […] in fact, we are the world’s number one vinyl seller.”

Now, Billboard’s sources have said Amazon has 12.3% market share and Urban Outfitters comes in second, with 8.1% market share.

While the publication’s research covers the US only, its sources did say Amazon has a wider reach across the globe: Urban Outfitters has around 50 stores outside of the US, Amazon has 300 in the US alone.

The news follows the RIAA’s mid-year report on music sales in the US. The trade body reported music revenues in the US have fallen 4.9% to $3.2 billion, down from the $3.35 billion that the industry accrued in the first half of 2013. Vinyl sales were up however, RIAA reports the format’s sales are up by 41% to $6.5 million in the first half of 2014, up from $4.8 million in June last year.

According to Nielsen Soundscan, vinyl makes up 3.5% of album sales in the US, a notable jump from 10 years ago, when it made up 0.2%.