Vinyl Could Become a Billion Dollar Industry in 2017

Published Jan 11, 2017

Much has been made of the vinyl revival and its financial viability as a format for the music industry. Now, the Financial Times reports that the renewed interest is only going to continue to grow in 2017.Citing research by Deloitte, the FT reports that vinyl record sales are expected to see double-digit growth for the seventh straight year, expecting around forty million records to be sold. Vinyl alone should contribute 7 percent to the $15 billion USD that the music market is expected to generate.Combining those numbers with the sale of new turntables and other record accessories could lead the industry to break the $1 billion mark, marking the the first time that's happened since the 1980s."The ubiquity of music streaming services means that music has never been more accessible, portable and readily available for the consumer," Deloitte head of technology, media and telecoms research Paul Lee told the FT. "Yet, despite that, consumers are choosing to buy something tangible and nostalgic and at a price point that provides record companies with significant revenues." The Vinyl Factory points out that sales of vinyl in the United States rose for an 11th straight year, while over 3.2 million LPs were sold in the UK last year to mark a 25-year high. Of course, Lee acknowledged that the bubble still stands to burst."Vinyl has a future in music, and an attractive one from a financial as well as an aesthetic perspective, but it is not, and is unlikely ever to be, its major growth or profit engine," he said.