– A 2013 Renaissance –



Depending on which pub table your are sitting in and depending on which group of people you are surrounded by, whenever the topic of ‘Is vinyl making a comeback’ arises there are often three primary standpoints. The first of these is often a resounding yes. Second you have the ‘it never went away’ group and the third usually asks ‘why do people still collect vinyl?’.

I would like to clear a few of these right off the bat as to avoid any confusion. Firstly, yes vinyl never went away, it simply hid itself down alleyways in little tiny shops which mostly had friendly, knowledgeable and often interesting characters working the till. So in comparison vinyl has indeed become far more present, visible and popular as of late especially online. And to answer the folks on table three wondering why some of us still collect vinyl, I am afraid that would need a blog entry all of its own.

“…when was the last time anyone ever walked into your living room, pointed to your iPhone and begged you to play it? – Mat Weisfeld, VP of New Jersey-based VPI Industries

Over 15,000 LPs are currently being bought every week in the UK and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) also report that records accounted for 0.8% of all albums sold in the United Kingdom, compare this to 2007 when its share stood at just 0.1% and things definitely start to appear promising. Back in October 2013 the BPI analysis of the vinyl market had arrived, and annual sales of vinyl records had crossed the half a million mark for the first time in more than a decade with a market seeing a year on year growth of 100%.

“It’s just exploded over the last couple of years. There’s just been a whole upsurge of interest in people coming in, requesting new vinyls, new titles.” – Chris Rose, Rose Red Records

Last years impressive growth appears to be due to a few factors. In large it has been a fan driven revival. In our day to day life we do not tend to come across adverts for LPs and the latest record player to hit the market. However the internet has allowed record collectors to band together using facebook groups and chat forums, sharing hardware tips and enthusing with one another in all things vinyl related. The rise of social media has enabled not only musicians who release on vinyl to better promote and engage their market but also record shops, labels, turntable companies and the like have also been seen to benefit.

Record Store Day is another factor partially responsible for the vinyl resurgence. Founded in 2007 by Eric Levin, Michael Kurtz, Carrie Colliton, Amy Dorfman, Don Van Cleave and Brian Poehner, it is a one day celebration of independent record shops which takes place

every year in April. BPI say figures show nine out of 10 vinyl buyers said that they had heard of Record Store Day and over half (56.5%) had visited an independent retailer on April 20th 2013. Things are also looking rather promising across the Atlantic, with USA Today reporting that an amazing total of 200,000 vinyl records had been sold the week of Record Store Day, resulting in a 36% increase from the previous year.

The final factor to have boosted the 2013 sales figures without doubt has to be some of the high profile releases of popular artists such as Daft Punk, David Bowie, Arctic Monkeys Arcade Fire, Paul McCartney and Pearl Jam.

“Record Store Day reached a new level this year. What is clear is that it is the stores that have done the most in terms of organising gigs and special events which have seen the highest sales.” – ERA chairman Paul Quirk

Amazon UK have enjoyed a 100% increase in sales from previous years and have released their list of the top 20 vinyl sales since 1999, It holds a few names which anyone could come to expect such as Pink Floyd, David Bowie and Daft Punk, some on the other hand I never would have guessed to have been particularly popular on vinyl. It definitely highlights the diversity of the market.

Amazon’s top 20 sales list 2013.

Daft Punk, Random Access Memories Adele, 21 Amy Winehouse, Back to Black David Bowie, The Next Day

Pink Floyd, The Dark Side of the Moon 6. David Bowie, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars Arctic Monkeys, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not Pink Floyd, The Dark Side of the Moon (30th Anniversary Edition) Arcade Fire, The Suburbs The Beatles, Love Me Do (50th Anniversary Limited Edition) Radiohead, In Rainbows Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here Bon Iver, For Emma Forever Ago Radiohead, Ok Computer Micah P. Hinson, Micah P. Hinson & The Gospel of Progress… PJ Harvey, Let England Shake Kate Bush, 50 Words for Snow Alt-J, An Awesome Wave The White Stripes, Elephant The xx, xx

“Whilst sales only account for a small percentage of the overall market, vinyl sales are growing fast as a new generation discovers the magic of 12 inch artwork, liner notes and the unique sound of analog records, often accompanied by a download code for MP3s.” – BPI CEO Geoff Taylor.

Via an online survey BPI did of 1,700 vinyl buyers in the UK, 7 in 10 record buyers purchase at least one record per month, and 1 in 5 make a purchase at least once a week. Over 85% said vinyl records were their preferred music format with 47.5% having vinyl make up over half their entire music collection.



Many have seen the growth of LP sales on the internet as a potential threat to the independent record shop, but this does not seem to be the case. Sales figures show that independent records shops are still the most popular choice for record collectors, followed closely by online shopping.

As a record collector I am not always after one album that I simply Google search and purchase. Its all about the chase of that perfect album for your collection. More often than not we don’t even know what we’re looking for. We scour the charity shops, local markets, car boot sales, the local record shop and the not so local shop a 30 minute train ride away, all in the quest for that unknown record. Recently for myself this turned out to be ‘Battle of the Drums’ featuring two of my musical influences Gene Krupa and Budy Rich… The point is that for many record collectors the internet is not enough.

In 2013 we witnessed an array of high street shops close down, a huge number of these were CD shops, the most high profile struggle to stay afloat being HMV who went into administration earlier in the year but have managed recently managed to get things back on track. Music lovers, CD and record collectors around the country are soon to be left with a limited choice when it comes to getting music from ‘the real world’ and if the day comes that all the HMV’s of the country are gone, and the only choice left is the local record shop, thus booming their costumer base, especially if they also sell CD’s.

But is vinyl really back or is this a passing trend, something the hipsters of this world can cling onto in the hopes of vintage authenticity? Maybe a rejection of the mp3 culture?

I think the consistent growth we have seen over the last 4 years is definitely a sign that vinyl is definitely not going anywhere any time soon. People have been collecting records since before 1930s when Columbia Records reintroduced the 10-inch “longer playing” record and they will continue todo so for many more years, probably outlasting CD’s and their inevitable great comeback in 40 years time. An important lesson maybe to draw from this is that a market never dies but it evolves.

Despite all the impressive figures, promising market growth statistics and clear evidence for a the strong resurgence in vinyl, it must be said that it is a niche market and will not be the saviour of the music industry in the sense of what the major record labels are looking for. I for one hope it stays that way, the day we see One Direction LPs in the record store will be a sad day I hope never comes, yet I fear it is around the corner..