Today is a milestone for Discogs! We’re celebrating the 8 millionth release being entered into the Discogs Database! That means that as of today, you’ll be able to find comprehensive information on 8,000,000+ vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, 8-tracks, cylinders and any other audio format you can think of in the Discogs’ Database. All this data has been painstakingly added to the database by vinyl junkies, tapeheads and music enthusiasts like you.

It’s mind blowing when you think about it: just over 16 years ago, it all started with 1 release: The Persuader – “Stockholm”. Since then, over 326,000 contributors have been adding information about releases, artists, images – together building the vast mountain of information that is the Discogs Database. It’s our mission to have every single music release in the world cataloged in the Discogs database, and the community is vital in helping us reach that goal. A big thanks to every Discogs community member who has contributed, and helped document music history! Please keep it up!

Here’s how the Discogs database has grown in the past 16 years:

As you can see from the data below, the rate of growth of the database has been picking up pace over the past couple of years. As many outlets have reported over 2016, sales of physical music media has been on the rise for some time and showing no signs of slowing. Sales of vinyl records eclipsed digital album download sales for the first time in the UK at the end of last year. It’s not totally clear what the reason for the vinyl renaissance is; perhaps a new audience coming of age, the rise of Record Store Day, increased retail space, the recent deaths of many music legends, or a combination of factors. It’s also unclear how long the hype will last, but it’s certain that as long as collectors are picking up choice finds, they’ll be looking for a place to catalog their gems.

There are stories behind every release in the Discogs Database, so to celebrate this big milestone, we’re looking for your best stories about music collecting. Tell us your tales about the time you stumbled upon your mother’s 45s in the basement, or that time you had to live in a basement because you spent all your money on records. We’ll be raffling off three Discogs goodie bags between all entries, and the best stories will be featured in the Collectors’ Tales series on the Discogs Blog. Share your story with us here!



