• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Vinyl Chapters

Vinyl Chapters

The Stories Behind The Music

  • Home
  • About
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • News
  • Submit
  • Shop
  • Contact
  • Cart
Home » articles » Vinyl sells more than CDs for the first time since the 80s

Vinyl sells more than CDs for the first time since the 80s

September 16, 2020 by Jamie Parmenter

Top 10 Vinyl Records of the Decade

That’s right, it’s finally happened. Vinyl has taken back its rightful place at the top of the physical format ladder by outselling CDs in the US over the first half of 2020, according to The Record Industry Association of America (RIAA).

According to the RIAA, for the first half of the year, there was $376 million worth of physical music sales, with 62% of these being vinyl sales. In the same period, however, streaming did also increase its stranglehold on the industry making up for a huge 85% of the revenue for music sales in the first half of the year, generating an estimated $4.8 billion.

This was all during the time of the COVID pandemic which is actually quite interesting. Even though the music industry as a whole, suffered greatly during this time (live venues and record stores especially), the buying of music still actually benefited from growth. I guess it’s not surprising – if people are stuck indoors, purchasing music, whether online or in physical format, is still something you’d be able to do quite easily during the troubled times.

This is also good news for the record stores, many of which have been struggling during the pandemic. With many local record stores not having an online purchasing option, to try and keep their businesses going whilst in lockdown, this was something that many decided to set up. Also, with frequent support from Record Store Day and social media campaigns, vinyl enthusiasts were made aware of the potential closure problems which boosted vinyl sales and purchases from independent stores during the tough times.

With the first RSD Drops event in August a resounding success, and the next one due on 26th September, let’s hope that this will bring in further revenue for those struggling local record stores and keep vinyl at the top where it belongs!

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: News

About Jamie Parmenter

Editor and Founder of Vinyl Chapters.
Always bothering people to tell a story about a record in their vinyl collection.

Reader Interactions

Leave a comment Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Search

Subscribe

Subscribe to our Newsletter

* indicates required

Recent Posts

Charlie Puth

Charlie Puth: Charlie – Review

Calvin Harris

Calvin Harris: Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2 – Review

JP Hoe

New Music Fridays – 5th August 2022

Footer

Navigation

Home

About

Reviews

Features

News

Submit

Contact Us

Shop

Search

Recent Posts

  • Taylor Swift: Midnights – Album Review
  • Charlie Puth: Charlie – Review
  • Calvin Harris: Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2 – Review
  • New Music Fridays – 5th August 2022
  • Hayley Kiyoko: Panorama – Review

Social Media

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Affiliate Disclosure

Vinyl Chapters is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. In doing so, this helps us continue providing free content. It does not increase the price for you in any way.

Copyright © 2023 Vinyl Chapters | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Editorial Team