Vinyl has absolutely exploded over the past few years. According to the RIAA, in 2015 the sales of vinyl records totaled $416 million, or their highest rates since 1988. It's easy to immediately turn an eye to the age group of 18 to 35 years old as the culprits for the resurgence, but a study done by YouGov suggests something completely different – it's middle-aged enthusiasts from ages 45 to 54.
YouGov looked at vinyl sales throughout 2016 in the United Kingdom and found that the majority of vinyl collectors are middle-aged, "lonely introverts who prefer music over social interactions." Here are some interesting statistics from the study!
- 66% of these collectors say they could not go through a whole day without listening to music, while 49% of UK adults say they couldn't either.
- 33% of these collectors say they listen whenever they can, as compared to 25% of UK listeners over the age of 18.
The study also states that 56% of these collectors prefer to keep their feelings to themselves and 69% prefer time alone. It's an interesting study, and I think it's pretty easy to paint these collectors as really weird and generally an outcast bunch, but I'm sure at least half of them are just regular people who want everyone else to go away so they can jam on some tunes.
Check out more recent studies of interest to metalheads here.
[via Fortune]
