FEATURE:
Let the Record Show
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The Ongoing Boom of Vinyl Sales and How It Could Lead to a Growth on the High Street
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I am going to do a related Lockdown Playlist…
PHOTO CREDIT: @amartino20/Unsplash
that combines songs from the forty best-selling vinyl albums of this year as, whilst other areas of the economic map are struggling and businesses are closing, things are looking rosy for vinyl and record shops. Whereas things are a bit fraught regarding venues and other sides of the music industry, it is clear that people have a huge appetite for vinyl. It is not just vinyl that is on the rise: cassette sales are also increasing and, in a year when streaming services are being criticised for not paying artists enough, more and more people are paying money for vinyl records. The Guardian reports some good news:
“UK sales of vinyl records are set to reach a three-decade high as fans unable to attend live music events during the pandemic channel their spare cash into building up their record collections.
Vinyl sales are up almost 10% this year, well on track to break the £100m mark by the end of 2020, making for the best year since 1990 when Sinead O’Connor and New Kids on the Block topped the charts. Sales by volume are also set to beat last year’s 4.3m.
It marks a remarkable bounce back given the market for physical music, from vinyl and CDs to cassettes and DVDs, plunged by almost half in April as the first lockdown shut high streets across the nation.
“We have seen 250% growth from the bottom of lockdown to where we are now,” said Drew Hill, managing director of Proper Music, the UK’s biggest independent distributor of vinyl and CDs. “I thought it could be catastrophic for the industry but during lockdown the kind of people buying records also probably went to a lot of gigs. They can’t do that so it seems fans are spending the money they used to on going to gigs each month on records.” Last week, Kylie Minogue wound back the years as Disco topped the vinyl album chart.
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The pandemic has also fuelled the ongoing revival of cassettes, with sales up 85% so far this year, putting total sales on course to top £1m for the first time since renewed interest wound back the years for the format.
However, the picture is much less rosy for CDs, already facing inexorable decline at the hands of the streaming revolution, with sales down 30% in the year to date, according to the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA). If that trend continues in the final weeks of this year CD sales will reach about £150m, the worst year since 1987.
Natasha Youngs, co-owner of Brighton-based record store Resident, said that owners have worked hard to shift sales online but it has proven difficult given vinyl fans’ love of the in-store browsing experience.
“We’ve had to adapt our business to provide our customers with as close to a normal service as possible and customers have really responded,” said Youngs. “As a result our online sales are considerably up year on year. But this in no way compensates for the sales we have lost over the counter. We can’t provide the face-to-face service that we pride ourselves on – it is missing a vital element of what a record shop is all about”.
I was worried, when the pandemic started, that we would lose so many record shops and there would be this depletion on the high street. Instead, many have offered online deliveries - and this has kept them in business.
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For many record shops, they have seen sales increase hugely and, thanks to Record Store Day being split over three different days, shops have seen huge queues and enormous demand! I think this popularity and craving for vinyl will continue into next year. As things improve and we start to see a return to normality, I think more and more people will come out and support their local record stores. Thinking about the report and how sales are rising, I wonder whether this will lead to a revival in the high street. At the moment, rent prices are forcing many record shops away - and that is still an issue they face. I am thinking about chains like HMV that have seen shops close, and I think that there could be this new demand that sees many reopen. Of course, vinyl sales alone cannot save and sustain chains like HMV, but it would be wonderful to see new independents open because, at the moment, I know it can be hard locating a nearby record shop. Look at central London and, maybe because of extortionate rent prices, it is really hard finding a record shop! That is the case with many cities but, because vinyl sales are exploding, there is a possibility that the revenue from sales could cover rent prices were there to be new shops opening. It is definitely heartening to see so many record stores survive and report great trading.
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Few would have anticipated this during a pandemic but, rather than this being benevolence and people supporting shops through some sense of guilt, there is just this genuine love of vinyl and desire to support artists. Though the browsing experience is a little different this year, that has not put people going to their local record shop and inspecting the racks! I do think that digital music is great but, in terms of sound quality and the listening experience, nothing can replace vinyl. Alongside this, cassettes are seeing a resurgence…so it is strangely like going back in time! I do think it would be wise of the Government to think about the rental prices and how businesses are struggling. I am not the only one who would welcome new record shops on high streets. Online ordering is convenient, but the sensation and process of going to a record store and spending time selecting vinyl is unbeatable! Going forward, and I think there will be a further increase in vinyl sales as we head to Christmas. In a year of bad news and disappointment, having some good news and cheer is definitely inspiring. Let’s hope that the rise in vinyl sales continues into 2021. In the run-up to Christmas, be sure to support your local record shops(s) by picking up some great vinyl and…
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PUTTING the needle down.