Records See Resurgence in Sales

Date: April 15, 2016

By: Katelyn Fatzler

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. (April 15) - With Record Store Day just around the corner, vinyl records are at the center of most music lovers' attention. Vinyl purchases continue to rise in popularity for the 10th year in a row.

Photo courtesy of K.T. Fatzler (CC BY-NC-SA)

In 2015, the music industry saw a new high in vinyl sales of about 12 million units, with rock albums making up 68 percent of sales, according to Nielsen’s 2015 U.S. Music Year-End Report.

“While music fans continued to drive dramatic growth in on-demand streaming music, with volume up 93 percent over 2014, it’s clear that the album is still a viable format for music fans,” Senior Vice President of Industry Insights David Bakula stated.

Vinyl records accounted for “nearly nine percent of total physical album sales,” according to a press release by Nielsen.

Record Store Day promotes purchases from independent stores with exclusive and limited edition pressings. According to charts released by BuzzAngle Music, singles sales in Indie stores saw a 97 percent increase on RSD 2015 in comparison to RSD 2014.

Posted in: WSOU