Vinyl sales have doubled compared to three years ago despite declining high streets
Written by Lewis Bassindale on 8th March 2024
A rise in the top 40 artists releasing more music on vinyl is helping independent shops to flourish in a time when high street footfall is at the lowest it has ever been.
Credit: Unsplash
According to the ERA (Entertainment Retail Association), 36.7% of total physical music sales last year were in independent shops.
This rise is down to the big vinyl revival which last year had a 58% share of the physical market value which doubled compared to three years ago. This is down to the biggest artists such as Taylor Swift releasing their albums on multiple collectable editions such as her album Evermore coming out on four different coloured records.
Reflex Records in Newcastle are taking advantage of this by having a dedicated part of their website for fans of Taylor Swift as well as selling exclusively to independent store editions of top 40 releases.
When asked about this rise, Reflex did say that “a significant amount of their sales are down to exclusive editions such as coloured and limited release vinyl.”
This rise in vinyl sales is also being supported by the fact artists are also touring record stores with their performances being open to people who pre-order and purchase the release. One such store that hosts these performances often is RPM Records in Newcastle which has hosted acts such as Sports Team who visited the store in September 2022 for the release of their second album Gulp!
Credit: Lewis Bassindale
Speaking about the benefits of in-store performances, RPM said: “It’s about more than sales, it introduces people to the feeling of buying records and the experience of visiting a shop”. They said it also helps them to be promoted through “word of mouth” as people talk about the show to friends and therefore the shop.
We have collated a selection of the best record shops across the Northeast that you should support including Reflex and RPM:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=19NTi1foxAuBFa5FT2COXaJhhvY1_f6E&usp=sharing
