While CD Sales Are Down, Vinyl is on the Upswing

I’m sure by now no one will be surprised to hear that CD sales are on the decline, clearly being overshadowed by the rapid growth of digital variants. It’s no surprise, either, since services like iTunes, Amazon MP3, 7Digital and others deliver what’s essentially the same music, but at a lower price, along with added convenience. In taking a look at Amazon MP3 just now, I can see some brand-new albums such as Linkin Park’s “A Thousand Suns” and Weezer’s “Hurley” available for $6.99. It’s sure hard to beat prices like that.

As much as I love the audio CD, and still purchase them before I even consider a digital download, it’s clear that the benefits of digital music are far too intense to ignore. But what about the vinyl record? It’s hardly a new format, but it’s one that has stood the test of time. You never see cassette tapes being sold anymore, but you do on occasion see the odd vinyl record. This is especially true online.

It might be hard to believe, though, that while CD sales are decreasing, the sales of vinyl records is increasing… and no, that’s not a joke. In 2009, a total of 2.5 million albums were sold, which is up from 1.88 million in the year prior. In 2007, the number sold was just under 1 million, at 990,000. See the trend here? An almost threefold increase in sales in a mere three years.

Who are buying these? According to an article by Computerworld, it’s a mixture of people – both audiophiles and collectors. On the audiophile side, the sound of a crisp vinyl record on its player can’t be matched, but for collectors, it’s neat to have an album in such a large format – especially if the album art is worth looking at. I’ve personally bought four vinyl records in the past two years, and I fall into the latter category. I don’t even own a record player… I just appreciate having massive versions of the same album to hang on the wall as a form of art.

Still, I’m a bit surprised to see that vinyl is making a comeback, outside of the DJ market. If this rate of increase continues, we might just be seeing vinyl a lot more often.

So why, in the midst of a continuing boom in digital music sales, are vinyl record sales growing? Older audiophiles, who’ve long maintained that vinyl albums more accurately reproduce an artist’s music, make up a large portion of the buyers shelling out money for LPs, Bakula said. In addition, a younger generation of music fans is also buying vinyl albums because of the medium’s historical significance and because they appreciate the album cover artwork and the extensive liner notes available with LPs.