Vinyl Sales Surge For 15th Straight Year!

By Mike O’Cull

Vinyl records continued their steady climb back to prominence in 2021. The once-dismissed hard copy format saw its sales increase for the 15th consecutive year, according to RIAA figures, which is outstanding news for fans and collectors everywhere.

In fact, vinyl sales went up a whopping 61% last year to a solid $1.0 billion, a level they’ve not reached since 1986. Vinyl records made up 63% of all physical sales in 2021 and 7% of total sales. Even CD sales went up by 21%, which makes 2021 the first year in which both formats grew at the same time since 1996. What does this mean to you? It means that the once-expected demise of physical listening formats has been greatly exaggerated and that a new generation of fans is willing to invest in the music they listen to.

Of course, streaming still dominates the listening landscape and was responsible for 83% of total music revenues in 2021. That means it isn’t going away any time soon but the increase in physical sales shows that they can coexist with the streaming giants and generate a more-than-respectable amount of income for musicians and the industry.

Mainstream artists like Harry Styles, whose latest effort Harry’s House sold 146,000 vinyl copies in its first three days of release, are racking up the biggest numbers but there are plenty of incredible blues, rock, and roots artists bringing platters to the market, as well. Alligator Records offers new vinyl titles by top blues stars including Charlie Musselwhite, Shemekia Copeland, Tinsley Ellis, and Carolyn Wonderland for your listening pleasure. The Mascot Label Group is also dropping major vinyl by stellar performers like Walter Trout, Black Stone Cherry, and Gov’t Mule. A new record collecting scene has sprung up around all this activity, too, and fans are getting more excited daily about things like colored vinyl, signed limited editions, and archival releases.

These sales numbers clearly prove that the vinyl revival goes way beyond hype and PR. They speak to an increased meaningfulness on the part of today’s listeners, true fans who were left cold by the Spotify experience and want to own things that physically connect them to their favorite music. Record collections have once again become expressive, personalized things that paint sonic pictures of their owner’s personalities. As the dawn of the digital music era saw music drifting towards being nothing but cultural background noise, this trend can only be positive.

Artists, too, have elevated their creative games in the new vinyl world. The combination of social media and physical media allows them to build relationships with their fans online and then sell them real, often personalized items they could never get any other way. Bands can now bring things like to-die-for fan club exclusive vinyl albums and singles, autographed pre-orders of new releases, multiple versions of cover art, and anything else they can dream up to the party. These are boom times for devoted followers and obsessive collectors, as a glance at any Facebook record collecting group will quickly prove.

Another factor that has helped vinyl regain some market share is National Record Store Day. First established in April of 2008, this now-annual event/tradition has grown into a much-anticipated occurrence in independent record shops everywhere full of special releases, live performances, and increased sales. The goal was to invigorate and celebrate the culture of indie record stores and the fans, staff, and musicians who create it. Record Store Day does a lot to keep vinyl cool and visible and now happens on every continent save for Antarctica. It has also put records into the hands of younger buyers who weren’t around to witness their previous commercial decline.

No matter how you break it down, vinyl records are here to stay and will only increase in sales. They may never surpass the streaming platforms but they have absolutely proven that they have an important place in the hearts and minds of the music-buying public. If you’ve been out of the game for a while but yearn to start buying flats again, there’s never been a better time to jump back in.