Is the vinyl revival over?

It is still alive.” White's sentiments are clearly mirrored by a large proportion of music fans, as vinyl record sales have seen consistent growth for nearly a decade, reaching a major high in 2020 with 4.8 million discs flogged – finally over-taking the ailing CD market for the first time in 35 years.

Is vinyl really making a comeback?

Vinyl revenue grew by 12.8% in the second half of 2018 and 12.9% in the first six months of 2019, while the revenue from CDs barely budged. If these trends hold, records will soon be generating more money than compact discs". Best Buy discontinued CDs in 2019, but as of January 2020 still sells vinyl.

Is vinyl still popular 2021?

US vinyl sales have reached record highs in 2021, according to MRC Data. During 2021, 41.72 million vinyl LPs were sold – a 51.4% increase on the 27.55 million records sold in 2020.

Does vinyl have a future?

The future of vinyl is a bit of a gamble, but records will most likely live on in the form of limited runs and special editions. Pressing records isn't a quick process. Orders frequently get postponed, as 30+-year-old technology can't always keep up with demand.

Are vinyl records still relevant in 2020?

In an age of fleeting digital pleasures, vinyl has quenched a thirst for tangible assets. For each of the past 15 years, sales of new vinyl have gradually increased. In the first half of 2021 alone, 17m albums were sold — an 86% jump from 2020.

Is the vinyl revival really over? Trouble for LPs, according to these figures

Why is vinyl getting popular again?

While vinyl records have for some time been associated with middle-aged people with a nostalgic affection for LPs, research shows that the main driving force behind this vinyl revival is actually millennial and Gen Z consumers.

Why vinyl is making a comeback?

This year, 2020, marks the first year in more than a generation since record sales — that is to say physical vinyl records — have surpassed CD sales. The reasons for this are twofold: CD sales have dropped dramatically in recent years, while sales of vinyl records are actually up this year.

Are CDs obsolete 2021?

Believe it or not, CD sales actually grew in 2021. It was the first time that happened in 17 years. It's 2022 and streaming makes up about 85 percent of how all music is consumed.

Is new vinyl as good as old vinyl?

Usually, if the master tapes are in good working order and have been looked after over the years, the best vinyl reissues will come from the original master recordings. These can sound just as good as the original pressings.

Is buying vinyl worth it?

Is Vinyl Worth It? Vinyl records are worth it if you are someone who wants the best and enjoys collecting. Vinyl maintains its value while producing great sound and experience for its listeners. Drawbacks to consider for vinyl are maintenance, cost of equipment, and cost of albums.

What age group buys vinyl records?

Under 25-year-olds are the driving force behind the surge in sales for vinyl records over the past five years. Research by ICM suggests 18 to 24-year-olds are buying more vinyl records than any other age group under 50.

Are vinyl sales increasing?

Vinyl sales in the U.S. increased from 21.5 million units in 2020 to 41.7 million units last year, according to a 2021 report from MRC Data-Billboard, a media consumption company formerly know as Nielsen-SoundScan.

Who has sold the most vinyls ever?

1/ Thriller - Michael Jackson - 27 million vinyl records sold. Who else but the King of Pop for the top step of the podium? Only one year after its release in 1982, Thriller was already the best-selling album of all time, with no less than 32 million units sold in all formats, and 66 million to date.

Is vinyl just a fad?

But managers and record labels clearly see vinyl as a fad — vinyl makes up just 6 percent of overall album sales, according to Nielsen Soundscan. This may explain why record executives aren't rushing to prop up the roughly 15 remaining record plants in the U.S. “It's a great marketing opportunity.

How many vinyls sold 2021?

VINYL VOLUME TURNED UP: 41.72 million vinyl albums were sold in the U.S. in 2021 (up 51.4% from 27.55 million in 2020). 2021 marked the 16th consecutive year vinyl album sales grew, and the largest year for vinyl album sales since MRC Data began tracking sales in 1991.

Do artists still release vinyl?

Forgive the sound of a broken record: Vinyl's comeback is still going strong. Streaming may be today's dominant music format, but revenues from vinyl albums are on track to top a staggering $1 billion in 2021, up from $626 million last year.

Is it worth keeping vinyl records?

When it comes to a vinyl record's value, condition is paramount, and worn copies of a record usually sell for modest amounts of money except in the cases of items that are rare to the point of being unique.

What sounds better CD or vinyl?

Sound Quality

From a technical standpoint, digital CD audio quality is clearly superior to vinyl. CDs have a better signal-to-noise ratio (i.e. there is less interference from hissing, turntable rumble, etc.), better stereo channel separation, and have no variation in playback speed.

Do modern vinyl records sound better?

Absolutely – vinyl wins this one hands down. However, compared to a CD? That's more tricky. Vinyl fans will argue that as it is an end-to-end analogue format, from the recording and pressing to playback, that it more closely reproduces what the artist originally played in the studio.

Will CDs make a comeback like vinyl?

Put down your vinyls records and dust off those long-forgotten plastic binders, because CDs are making a resurgence. CD sales in the US increased in 2021 for the first time in 17 years, according to the annual sales report published by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Should I throw out my CDs?

You should never throw away old CDs. If they end up in the landfill, it's estimated that they could last for up to 1 million years. If they end up in an incinerator, they can release hydrochloric acid, sulfur dioxide, and dioxins into the atmosphere.

What will replace CDs in the future?

TVM. Bio has developed a patent pending medium named a USB Music Card™, that will not only replace CDs, but provide live time data and analytics to record labels, musicians, and music sponsors.

Is vinyl really better than digital?

Vinyl is far more high-quality. No audio data is lost when pressing a record. It sounds just as great as the producer or band intended. There's another, far superior reason why vinyl is better than lossy digital formats.

What is the most valuable vinyl record?

Do they still make 45 records?

The arrival of the compact disc in the 1980s severely curbed production of LP and 45 discs. Sales of both dropped quickly and most major label record companies stopped releasing them in large amounts by the early 1990s. However, both are still being produced to this day.