According to the Daily Mail newspaper, vinyl records sold £2.5 million the week starting November 28 compared to £2.1 million for digital.
According to the Daily Mail, “The interest in buying a physical format of music on vinyl has experienced a resurgence in the past 12 months. This time last year, the sale of vinyl albums reached £1.2 million while digital sales were £4.4 million. Vinyl has also experienced eight consecutive years of growth, despite almost dying out around 2006.”
It quoted Kim Bayley, chief executive of the Entertainment Retailers Association, as crediting this revival to the number of places now selling records across the UK. An increasing number of vinyl-only record shops have opened, while supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s and Tesco, and even high-street interiors shop Tiger, now stock records, making them easily accessible.
Vinyl albums
Bayley noted that vinyl had experienced a boost as “an increasingly popular choice for Christmas presents”.
“The vast majority of releases are coming out in vinyl now,” said Bayley. “It used to be that only heritage acts or niche albums would come out as a record, but now everything does – pop albums, compilations, film soundtracks, all genres.”
Kate Bush, Amy Winehouse and Busted all have vinyl albums in the UK national chart. Many persons purchasing their records are 25 or younger.
While there are no official sales figures for Jamaican music, ska, rocksteady, roots reggae from the 1970’s, and dub have always had a thriving underground vinyl market in the UK.
The Marley family has observed these favorable trends. Their Tuff Gong company, along with Universal Music, co-owns the Bob Marley catalog, has released his Legend and Live! albums on vinyl.
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