Vinyl records are still alive and strong.
The British music industry was kept afloat in troubled water by a huge rise in streaming and vinyl sales despite the rampancy of music piracy according to a trade body.
BPI, a representative body for UK record labels said nearly 27 billion songs were streamed in 2015, a rise of 82% from the year before. It also said that the recent resurgence of vinyl record sales has risen to 64%, even though vinyl was supposed to have died sometime around the 90’s. Vinyl records lost its sales from the rise of cassette tapes at the time and also from the popularity of CD’s.
It’s hard to believe that vinyl records still keep up with the pace of the music industry today especially when everything is going digital. Many people will argue that vinyl “sounds so much better”, and you may not buy into that logic, but buying physical copies of music gives consumers a ritual experience and personal relationship with the music. It provides the listeners the chance to value music and handle and interact with something physical. That’s something Spotify replace.
BPI chief executive Geoff Taylor said: “Yet again it’s UK artists who are driving this growth and inspiring the fans, whether it’s global icons such as Adele, Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith and One Direction, or recent British breakthroughs and newcomers like Jess Glynne, Little Mix and James Bay.”
In the UK, Adele’s latest album 25 became the biggest selling album last year despite being released in November. It’s also the fastest selling record worldwide.
BPI also revealed that the sales of CD’s were more resilient than expected even though streaming was the best way 2015 listeners wanted to have music. 53.6 million discs were sold, just 3.9% higher than 2014.
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