The vinyl revival, also known as the vinyl resurgence, is the renewed interest and increased sales of vinyl records, or gramophone records, that has been taking place in the music industry. Beginning in 2007, vinyl records experienced renewed popularity in the West and in East Asia amid steadily increasing sales, renewed interest in the record shop, and the implementation of music charts dedicated solely to vinyl.
The analogue format made of polyvinyl chloride had been the main vehicle for the commercial distribution of pop music from the 1950s until the 1980s when it was largely replaced by the cassette tape and then the compact disc (CD). After the turn of the millennium, CDs were partially replaced by digital downloads and then streaming services. However, in the midst of this, vinyl record sales were increasing and were growing at a quick rate by the early 2010s, eventually reaching levels not seen since the late 1980s in some territories. Despite this, records still make up only a marginal percentage (8% in the US as of 2023) of overall music sales. Alongside these there has also been a swift increase in the sales and manufacturing of new record players/turntables.
The revival peaked in the 2020s, with various publications and record stores crediting Taylor Swift with driving vinyl sales. For 2022, the Recording Industry Association of America reported that: "Revenues from vinyl records grew 17% to $1.2 billion – the sixteenth consecutive year of growth – and accounted for 71% of physical format revenues. For the first time since 1987, vinyl albums outsold CDs in units (44 million vs 33 million)." The revival has been relatively muted in certain other countries like Japan and Germany – the world's second and third largest music markets after the U.S. – where CDs continue to outsell records by a significant margin as of 2022.
History In June 2017, Sony Music announced that by March 2018 it would be producing vinyl records in-house for the first time since ceasing its production in 1989. The BBC News reported: "Sony's move comes a few months after it equipped its Tokyo studio with a cutting lathe, used to produce the master discs needed for manufacturing vinyl records." They did, however, note: "Sony is even struggling to find older engineers who know how to make records."
In Brazil
It was reported by the Brazilian record companies that in 2023 the revenues from vinyl records had shot up by 136%, the highest of the physical formats. Despite physical formats representing a tiny fraction of the Brazilian music industry, the increase in vinyl contributed to physical formats growing to their highest level since 2018.
In China In China, which has grown rapidly in recent years to become one of the world's largest music markets, the last vinyl record production plant located in Shanghai stopped in 1998. An experienced audio and video company invested in the creation of a new production plant in Guangzhou in 2015. Since then, the popularity of vinyl records has notably increased, leading to a Chinese equivalent of Record Store Day. Many Chinese had also not experienced the format before, due to most of the population living in poverty at the time when it was at its peak in the West.
In France Between 2016 and 2021, sales volumes and revenues generated from vinyl records had tripled. In the year 2023, vinyl sales had reached 5.5 million units. Despite it being only half that of CD sales, it matches a similar amount of market revenue due to the higher retail prices of vinyl.
In Germany
In Germany a revival of vinyl records already took place in the 1990s in conjunction with the rise of the rave and techno scene. In the mid-1990s, the rave culture had become a mass movement in the country, with raves having tens of thousands of attendees, youth magazines featuring styling tips, and television networks launching music magazines on house and techno music. In this context Der Spiegel in 1998 describes this "renaissance" of the LP format and declares that "LPs are in again". The CD format was regarded as "uncool", while vinyl records could be beatmatched into each other more easily and had more room for album cover art. Record bags were a common fashion accessory at that time.(PDF version) In the early 2000s the mainstream rave movement declined, and by the end of the decade a majority of the so-called "techno record stores" and record store chains that had emerged in the 1990s had disappeared again.
Outside of the electronic scene, the Düsseldorf-based neo-psychedelic band Vibravoid emerged as a persistent proponent of the format. Having released their music almost exclusively on vinyl since their formation in the 1990s, the band is often credited with keeping the collector culture alive through the format's commercial low point with elaborate op-art packaging and multi-colored editions.
Around 2007 another revival of vinyl began, this time also concerning the collection of other genres such as pop music, and increasingly promoted by the music industry.
In 2016, Germany had 476 record stores, with 3.1 million vinyl records being sold. In 2020, sales of vinyl LPs in Germany increased to 4.2 million units sold. Almost three quarters of the 20 most popular records of this year belong to the rock music genre.
In Japan Sales of music CDs in Japan began in 1982. By 1986, the compact disc began replacing the gramophone record as the primary means of music distribution in Japan. As opposed to declining CD sales in Western markets, CDs remained a huge market in Japan, with sales of over 100 million each year from 1998 until 2018. Beginning in the early 2000s decade, nostalgia for vinyl records was growing, although CD sales were still strong. Inspired by the Record Store Day event in the United States, Japanese record stores began promoting the revival of gramophone records in 2012. Concurrently, popular musicians including Sakanaction, AKB48, Perfume, and Masaharu Fukuyama began releasing their music for vinyl distribution. In 2014, HMV Record Shop, a proponent in selling vinyl records, opened in Shibuya. Technology brands such as Sony Electronics and Panasonic released revived models of gramophone record players, starting in 2016.
From the mid-2010s decade, vinyl records have enjoyed renewed popularity, with specialized shops opening in Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Ginza. From 2010 to 2020, vinyl sales in Japan increased tenfold, from 105,000 copies to 1,219,000 copies. Although the 2020 figure did not match that of 2000 (when nearly two million vinyl records were sold), it was the best figure since 2004. Popular artists such as Perfume and Back Number have led the way for vinyl revival, and CD sales have declined by 35% from 2008 to 2018.
In the United Kingdom Similarly in the United Kingdom, the compact disc surpassed the gramophone record in popularity in the late 1980s. This started a gradual decline in vinyl record sales throughout the 1990s. The popularity of indie rock caused sales of new vinyl records (particularly 7 inch singles) to increase significantly in 2006. Sales of vinyl LP records in the UK increased every year between 2007 and 2014. In December 2011, BBC Radio 6 Music began an occasional Vinyl Revival series in which Peter Paphides met musicians who revealed, and played selections from, their vinyl record collections.
In November 2014, it was reported that over one million vinyl records had been sold in the UK since the beginning of the year. Sales had not reached this level since 1996. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) predicted that Christmas sales would bring the total for the year to around 1.2 million. However, vinyl sales were still a very small proportion of total music sales. Pink Floyd's The Endless River became the fastest-selling UK vinyl release of 2014 – and the fastest-selling since 1997 – despite selling only 6,000 copies.
In 2016, 3.2 million vinyl records were sold in the UK, the best sale for a quarter of a century.The Guardian, January 2017 The vinyl revival was among the factors credited with ensuring the survival of physical music retailer HMV following its 2013 collapse into administration, with vinyl sales in 2014 up 170% on the year beforeRetail Week, 2015-01-16 and the vinyl offering further strengthened since 2019 under subsequent owner Doug Putman.Music Week, 2024-02-14
As of 2016, the revival continued, with UK vinyl sales exceeding streaming audio revenue for the year.
In January 2017, the BPI's 'Official UK recorded music market report for 2016', using Official Charts Company data, noted: "Though still niche in terms of its size within the overall recorded music market, vinyl enjoyed another stellar year, with over 3.2 million LPs sold – a 53 per cent rise on last year." The BPI also reported: "The biggest-selling vinyl artist was David Bowie, with 5 albums posthumously featuring in the top-30 best-sellers, including his Mercury Prize shortlisted Blackstar, which was 2016's most popular vinyl recording ahead of Amy Winehouse's Back to Black, selling more than double the number of copies of 2015's best seller on vinyl – Adele's 25."
BBC Radio 4's Front Row discussed the increase in coloured vinyl releases in October 2017 in the wake of recent albums in the format by Beck, Liam Gallagher, and St. Vincent. According to the BPI, more than five million vinyl records were sold in 2021 in the UK, an increase of 8% over 2020 and the 14th consecutive increase since 2007. The BPI estimated that almost one in four album purchases that year were on vinyl, the highest proportion since 1990.
In March 2023, the BPI published an analysis of Official Charts data, and claimed that vinyl purchases have increased for a 16th consecutive year in the UK. The vinyl market in 2023 has experienced a 11.7% year-on-year rise to 5.9 million units, up from a 2.9% increase the previous year.
In 2024, BBC reported that, for the first time since 1992, vinyl records have been included in the set of goods used by the UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS) to track prices and calculate the rate of inflation.
In the United States In the 1980s, vinyl records declined in popularity. The major label distributors restricted their return policies, which retailers had been relying on to maintain and swap out stocks of relatively unpopular titles.
First, the distributors began charging retailers more for new product if they returned unsold vinyl, and then they stopped providing any credit at all for returns. Retailers, fearing they would be stuck with anything they ordered, only ordered proven, popular titles that they knew would sell, and devoted more shelf space to CDs and cassettes. Record companies also deleted many vinyl titles from production and distribution, further undermining the availability of the format and leading to the closure of pressing plants. This rapid decline in the availability of records accelerated the format's decline in popularity, and is seen by some as a deliberate ploy to make consumers switch to CDs, which were more profitable for the record companies. Between 2003 and 2008, over 3,000 record stores in the country closed their doors. But ever since 2007, the popularity of vinyl records has risen again with annual sales increasing by 85.8% between 2006 and 2007 in the United States, although starting from a low base, and by 89% between 2007 and 2008. In 2009, 3.5 million units sold in the United States, including 3.2 million albums, the highest number since 1998. The largest online retailer of vinyl records in 2014 was Amazon with a 12.3% market share, while the largest physical retailer of vinyl records was Urban Outfitters with an 8.1% market share.