Nielsen SoundScan has released music-related sales numbers from the United States for 2010. One of the most interesting stories, as far as I’m concerned, is that vinyl sales have reached levels not achieved since 1991!
2.8 million units of vinyl were sold in the U.S. in 2010, according to Nielsen’s tracking statistics.
That represents a 14 per cent increase over sales in 2009 and accounts for a total of one per cent of all music sales.
Despite the fact this is the highest number of annual sales in vinyl since 1991, that last figure is a sobering statistic. While it’s clear that vinyl has risen from the dead and sales continue to grow, it remains the purview of an enthusiastic but niche community of music listeners. As the L.A. Times music blog points out, Taylor Swift’s new album outsold the entire year’s worth of vinyl in the first ten weeks of its release, with 2.9 million in digital format sales.
That said, it’s encouraging for a vinyl enthusiast such as myself to see the data confirm that, indeed, vinyl sales are increasing rapidly (and, yes, relatively). If nothing else, more record companies, especially larger major labels that live and die by these sales numbers, may be inclined to press vinyl.
The numbers seem to indicate that the large majors are getting the message. If you examine the 2010 vinyl sales numbers, two things stand out: one is that Abbey Road by the Beatles was the highest selling vinyl record in 2010 (35,000 units); the other is that the sales split is roughly 60/40 between independents and “heritage” (e.g., re-issues) releases.
These numbers confirm that the indie labels and artists continue to drive sales in the vinyl market but that the majors are finding success re-issuing older titles (the Beatles, Michael Jackson, Pink Floyd and Metallica are among the top ten selling artists on vinyl in 2010).
My reading of the tea leaves here is that younger people are the ones driving sales in vinyl. They are supporting independent artists by purchasing records and getting into older music by purchasing vinyl re-issues.
If this trend continues, my prognostications about the resurgence of vinyl and how the music industry might look in ten years may be proved correct.
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