Posted on 03/10/2023 7:56:12 PM PST by BenLurkin
Vinyl albums outsold CDs last year for the first time since 1987, according to the Recording Industry Association of America's year-end report released Thursday.
It marked the 16th consecutive year of growth in vinyl, with 41 million albums sold — compared to 33 million CDs.
Streaming is still the biggest driver of the music industry's growth, making up 84% of recorded-music revenue, but physical music formats saw a remarkable resurgence in the past couple of years.
The pandemic led to a spike in demand for vinyl records, driven largely by younger buyers. Vinyl has become a major part of artists' marketing campaigns.
Artists including Adele and Taylor Swift made pop a fast-growing genre on vinyl, and many independent manufacturers struggled to ramp up and meet demand after years of decline. That's forced some bands to push back album releases and stopped small artists from being able to press records.
The recorded-music industry's fortunes started to improve in 2016 as streaming services grew, overcoming the decline in CD sales and online music piracy. Paid subscription services including Spotify and Apple Music brought in $10.2 billion from 92 million paid subscribers in 2022, topping $10 billion for the first time, according to RIAA.
Ad-supported streaming, like YouTube, brought in $1.8 billion and made up 11% of recorded-music revenue. Revenue from digital downloads, including both albums and single tracks, dropped 20% to $495 million.
Vinyl revenue grew 17% and topped $1.2 billion last year, making up nearly three-quarters of the revenue brought in by physical music. At the same time, CD revenue fell 18% to $483 million, the RIAA said.
(Excerpt) Read more at npr.org ...
I know next to nothing about classical music, but I know what I like.
I used to shop at J&R music in lower Manhattan. I’d scour the bargain bins to sample pieces on the cheap and if I liked them, I’d buy a DG or RCA Gold copy. There were a couple of guys down there who were also quite helpful.
I don’t listen to them much anymore. Not very mobile now and getting up and down to change records and deal with the collection is a bit much. Putting 6 CDs in the changer is about my limit now. LOL
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