Vinyl surge in UK could see 3.5m unit sales this year

After exceeding industry expectations in 2015 by shifting 2.1 million, UK vinyl sales continue to grow this year. It’s little wonder that more and more bricks-n-mortar stores are bringing the format back to the floor.

In the first three months of 2016, vinyl long players found 637,056 new homes, according to new figures by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). It marked a 62% rise from the same period in 2015. Vinyl now constitutes 3.9% (£40 million or A$73.5 million) of the UK’s £1 billion ($1.84 billion) album market, compared to 2.1% in Q1 2015.

Judging from this rapid rate of growth, the BPI estimates that vinyl sales will hit 3 million by the end of 2016… possibly 3.5 million. This would be the highest rate of the format’s sales for 20 years. The Official Charts Company began monitoring sales in 1994 when 1.44 million LPs sold that year.

“Vinyl is no longer the preserve of baby-boomers who grew up with the format. It now also appeals to a new generation of engaged younger fans and millennials,” said BPI chief Geoff Taylor.

“While digital platforms provide fans instant and unlimited access to an ever-expanding cosmos of music, they can’t quite match the unique experience vinyl gives you – browsing for rare gems in your favourite record store, poring over the cover art and sleeve notes and enjoying the ritual of carefully dropping the stylus onto an LP and savouring its analogue sound.

“Younger fans increasingly discover on digital but collect on vinyl.”

Vinyl has seen eight years of consistent growth. But streaming, with its rapid growth and its effect on music discovery, has fuelled its resurgence. A poll conducted by ICM and shared exclusively with the BBC, found that half its buyers listened to an album online before buying the long player.

The popularity of Record Store Day has also made its impact. On April 16, 200 UK indie stores were involved.

In terms of age groups, the 25—34-year-olds are the most avid collectors (33%), followed by the 35—44 group (22%), the 45—54 group (18%), the 18 –24 group (15%) and the 55—64 group (10%). Usually it’s been men doing the buying about 8% going to a store in the last month. But women have risen from 3% in 2013 to 5% last year.

The ICM poll found that 48% of vinyl collectors haven’t even played their new LPs: 41% of buyers own turntables but don’t use them and 7% don’t even have a record player. That leaves only 52% using their turntables. 50% call themselves collectors. Others say they buy the records to support their favourite artists.

So it can be assumed that the appeal of the format is its large size and gorgeous cover art and inner sleeve make them perfect on a coffee table or hung on a wall.

The biggest vinyl seller this year is David Bowie, whose Blackstar topped the first anniversary of the Official Vinyl Chart. The latest chart had Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black at #2, The 1975’s I Like it When You Sleep at #3, Adele’s 25 at #4, The Stone Roses’ The Stone Roses at #5, David Bowie’s Nothing Has Changed – The Very Best Of at #6, the Guardians Of The Galaxy soundtrack at #7, David Bowie’s The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust at #8, Bob Marley’s Exodus at #9 and Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours at #10.

In the Official Vinyl Singles Chart, Bowie again ruled, with four singles in the top 10 and Golden Years as #1 seller. Others in the singles Top 10 included The 1975, Massive Attack, Jeff Buckley, Blossoms and New Order.

The vinyl boom has also seen the return of small independent stores, from 299 in 2009 to 340 last year, according to the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA).

This comes as the ERA also reports a surge in UK brick-n-mortar stores that sell music has hit an all-time high of 14,727. It was 10,391 in 2014 and 4,600 in 2009. The number of specialist chains has dropped. The number of supermarket chains selling music has grown, from around 2,300 in 2009 to 8,500 in 2015. Non-traditional stores as Argos, Boots, Primark and Urban Outfitters also now stock CDs and vinyl and report their sales data to the Official Charts Company.