Record Store Day boosts vinyl sales
Written by admin on 25th April 2014
This year’s Record Store Day, on 19 April, saw a surge in vinyl sales, with an increase of 133% on the previous week, industry figures reveal.
Led by a reissue of The Stone Roses’ debut album, vinyl sales grew by more than 62% compared to 2013, with 12-inch single sales growing by 15.4% alone.
However, 7-inch vinyl sales fell by 28%, partly because fewer records were released in the format.
The figures are in keeping with the US, where week-on-week sales grew by 91%.
Nielsen Entertainment called it “the most successful Record Store Day ever for vinyl”, with LP sales up 58% over the same week last year.
Record Store Day was created in the US in 2007. Now in its seventh year, it champions independently-owned record stores in the UK and US, and celebrates vinyl recordings.
In the UK, the Stone Roses’ eponymous album was the biggest-selling vinyl album of the week, in a chart populated with classic bands such as the Jimi Hendrix Experience and the Ramones – both of whom also featured in the US chart.
“The vinyl format, whilst still popular with baby-boomers that grew up with it and nurtured in recent years by events such as Record Store Day, increasingly also appeals to an engaged audience of younger artists and consumers alike, who appreciate its iconic heritage as part of Rock and Pop culture,” said Gennaro Castaldo, spokesman for the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
“LP sales doubled in volume last year to 780,000 units – the highest annual total in over 15 years, and with sales up again this year, we’re close to seeing the greatest demand for vinyl recordings in nearly two decades.”
(Source: BBC News)
