Vinyl sales are still in the rise in the United States, but half of the buyers aren't actually listening to them.
According to a report earlier this year, vinyl sales grew 4.2% between 2021 and 2022 (from 41.72 million in 2021 to 43.46 million vinyl in 2022). Vinyl made up 43.4% of all physical media sales in 2022, or 43.46 million of 79.89 million total physical album purchases, and annual vinyl sales exceeded CD sales in the US last year for the first time since 1987. So the format is undeniably very popular.
Now a new report by Luminate shows that "50% of consumers who have bought vinyl in the past twelve months own a record player, compared to 15% among Music Listeners overall." Which also means that 50% of consumers who have bought vinyl in the past twelve months don't own a turntable. It's not surprising considering some folks just like the look or just enjoy collecting (which is totally fine), but literally half seems… high?
Two other pretty cool takeaways from the study include:
- Thirty-one percent of Gen-Z people wish artists provided more merch options so they can show their support
- Super fans are also nearly three times more likely to have bought vinyl in the last year
- Rock fans are roughly 8% more likely to listen to vinyl records than any other genre
- LGBTQ+ audiences are 25% more likely to use turntables, record, and vinyl players
The study doesn't specify what "more merch options" Gen-Z would like to see more of. Is it clothing and accessories? More physical formats? Neither one of those things? We're curious!
