Although it may seem boring to some, at the turn of each year I find myself hanging out for the big music sales wrap. Is streaming still king? Who were the biggest newcomers? Is vinyl uncool again? These are the questions plaguing me…
Thankfully, after perusing 2017’s US and UK-based data, the answer to that last question is a big, fat, resounding ‘no’.
2017 is done like a dinner, and vinyl is feeling very well-fed indeed. Data from the US and UK are here to prove that, for now, the wax is here to stay.
According to Nielsen Music (who gathers data in the US), vinyl record sales climbed a further 9% in 2017, selling a total 14.3 million units (up from 13.1 million in 2016). This accounted for a whopping 14% of all physical album sales.
Across in the Queen’s country, vinyl enjoyed its best sales year since 1991 and recorded its twelfth consecutive growth year. 4.1 million records were sold in total through the year.
Unfortunately, Australia remains too small a market to attract the attention of such humungous data magnates. Each year the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) does publish its sales figures, but we’ll likely have to wait a month or two to see them.
Want to be pressed on wax? Enter Needle in the Hay, our very own vinyl competition.
