Vinyl’s comeback proves old school is still cool.
The latest data from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) shows the enduring appeal of vinyl records. According to their 2023 report released in March 2024, vinyl sales had a 10% sales increase to $1.4 billion, making up 71% of all money made from physical music formats.
This increase led to 43 million vinyl albums being sold versus 37 million for CDs, marking the second consecutive year that vinyls have outsold CDs since 1987.
The Steady Growth of Vinyl Sales
Vinyl record sales have been consistently growing, as seen in the RIAA’s past annual reports.
In 2014, LP sales jumped 49% to $315 million. This was the first time they hit double digits in the physical market share since 1987.
But the sales kept rising, reaching $416 million in 2015 and $419 million in 2018.
Vinyl revenue went up again by 19% to $504 million in 2019, heralding its comeback. This growth continued into 2020, with sales rising 28.7% to $626 million. It was the first time vinyl surpassed CDs since 1986.
The first half of 2021 saw vinyl sales soar by 94%, reaching $467 million. The momentum carried into 2022, where a 17% boost led to sales of $1.2 billion, with 41 million units sold, comprising 71% of the income from physical media.
Meanwhile, CD revenues declined over this period, falling 18% to $483 million in 2022 after a rebound in 2021.
The Swift Effect
Billboard reports that newer artists, like Taylor Swift, are driving the surge in vinyl sales.
Swift accounts for one in every 15 vinyl purchases, with her records selling 3.484 million copies – 7% of the industry’s total. Five of her albums are also listed among the best-selling vinyls in the US for 2023.
According to Luminate’s 2023 report, Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) also set a new record by selling 693,000 vinyl copies in its debut week, the highest since 1991, when Luminate first began tracking sales. She surpassed her previous record with Midnights, which sold 575,000 vinyl copies in its first week.
Billboard shared other notable contributors to vinyl’s popularity in 2023, which included:
- Lana Del Rey (646,000)
- Tyler, the Creator (552,000)
- Travis Scott (474,000)
- Olivia Rodrigo (408,000)
- Kendrick Lamar (382,000)
- Metallica (378,000)
- The Beatles (373,000)
- Fleetwood Mac (357,000)
- Mac Miller (354,000)
Other Insights From RIAA’s 2023 Year-End Report
The RIAA’s 2023 report provided more details beyond the vinyl and CD sales trends.
For instance, the report shows that streaming remained the biggest part of the recorded music industry. It made $14.4 billion in revenues in 2023, which was 84% of total music revenues.
Within streaming, paid subscriptions grew 9% to reach $11.2 billion. This made up 78% of streaming revenues and nearly two-thirds of total revenues.
The limited-tier music subscriptions, like those bundled with Amazon Prime, fell 4% to $1 billion. Meanwhile, ad-supported on-demand streaming, including YouTube and Spotify’s free tier, grew 2% to $1.9 billion. This was 11% of total revenues.
Digital and customized radio services, including SoundExchange distributions, also saw an 8% increase to $1.3 billion. This reflects the popularity of Internet radio, satellite radio, and other digital radio formats.
In contrast, revenues from downloaded digital music kept declining. Downloads fell 12% to $434 million, now only 3% of total U.S. recorded music revenues. This is down from the 43% peak in 2012.