Amongst the wealth of vinyl, digital, and general music sales data we’ve dug up over the last year or so, one thing has remained clear: nothing beats the classics.
From the joke that was the top 10 vinyl records sold in 2017 to Record Store Day’s cohort of old-school reissues, it seems like it will remain impossible to top Rumours, Dark Side of the Moon or Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band.
But finally, snippets of data from the Discogs mid-year report are actually pointing in the other direction.
Is the world finally turning away from its classic transfixion? Discogs have revealed a sharp upwards curve in new music sales during 2017.
Discogs’ catalogue sales (releases 18 months or older) rose by 11.91% from 2016. Meanwhile, sales on new releases rose by an astronomical 123.81%.
In the scheme of things it’s still not too much. Non-catalogue releases account for only 7.5% of Discogs’ 2017 sales to date. Yet change is change, and a change as steep as 123.81% is nothing to shake a fist at.
For physical formats to stay as fresh as they feel right now, a new market needs to present itself. It’s only a matter of time until everyone in the world owns Dark Side of the Moon, ya know?
On the theme of new releases, check out the top 10 sold on Discogs this year so far:
- Midori Takata – Through The Looking Glass
- David Bowie – Cracked Actor (Live Los Angeles ’74)
- A Tribe Called Quest – We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
- Thelonious Monk – Les Liaisons Dangereuses 1960
- Slowdive – Slowdive
- The Other People Place – Lifestyles of the Laptop Café
- Various – La La Land – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
- Yussef Kamaal – Black Focus
- The Cure – Acoustic Hits
- Anderson .Paak – Malibu
Check out the full report here.
