Now, how we listen to music has changed alot.
From the trusted vinyl, to cassettes, to cd’s… to (remember minidisc?) and then we could save music files on our ipod/device and more recently, being able to stream music… from our favourite streaming provider.
I’ll be honest – not sure what will be next. I think there’ll be an element of AI – that’ll be able to sense your mood and behaviour and play something applicable from your playlists without you having to select something. So whilst AI will play something for us, at times we want to be in charge and select what we want. And with that… recently, vinyl’s have been selling. And selling quite well!
No longer just a niche hobby for dads and hipsters, vinyl is experiencing a major resurgence in mainstream music. According to the Recording Industry Association of America’s (RIAA) annual revenue report, vinyl records outsold CDs in the US last year for the first time since 1987, selling 41 million units against 33 million for CD.
Vinyl record sales have consistently increased over the last 16 years which is crazy thinking how streaming services have become the norm! This is all according to the RIAA report published on Thursday, now accounting for 71 percent of all physical music format revenue. The growth margins here aren’t trivial, either — while physical formats as a whole increased by 4 percent, earning $1.7 billion between 2021 and 2022, vinyl sales alone accounted for $1.2 billion, experiencing a 17 percent increase in sales compared to the previous year!
Wondering what is going on here…. well, there are several factors driving the vinyl revival. Many audiophiles claim the format provides a warmer, more authentic sound compared to digital. Nostalgia also plays a part for those who lived through the golden age of vinyl, but younger generations are driving sales too, praising the format’s tangibility and artwork. Artists for the Gen-Z and millennial demographic made up a significant number of record sales in 2022. Taylor Swift was the highest-selling artist last year, selling almost 1.7 million vinyl records alone! Wow!
So… whilst many of us have gone digital with our music needs – there is a growing number of folk who prefer the old, warmer sounds of a vinyl record. Though… whilst that is nice at home, you won’t be able to play it in your car… something, that for sure is a hobby.
And it’s these non-digital type of hobbies that are on the increase. Yes – there’s an element because it’s mainly for the music, but it’s also covers, the artwork, the material with the vinyl, and so much more. It’s holding that physical product in your hand.
In conclusion – we’ll continue to stream most of our music, because of it’s flexbility but.. there’s an increasing sense of enjoying our music. And that’ll be mainly via vinyl.