Vinyl makes a sublime return, outsells CDs in the US for the first time in 35 years

Vinyl records sales outpaced compact discs for the first time in 35 years in 2022. In 2022, at least 41 million vinyl albums were sold compared to 33 million CDs, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported citing data from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The report says sale of recorded music rose six percent to $15.9 billion in 2022 for the seventh consecutive year.

In the music industry's recent expansion, streaming continues to be the biggest driver, per the RIAA data. The report further said the revenue generated from vinyl rose 17 percent, while CD revenue came down to 18 percent in the same period.

Why is vinyl seeing increased demand?

American magazine Rolling Stone stated that retro style and more collectible album art played a key role in the increase of vinyl sales, and now these records account for 70 percent of all physical music sales. The paid subscriptions continue to be the biggest money-making scheme, leading to an 8 percent growth last year to $10.2 billion, per the RIAA report. Meanwhile, the revenue from digital downloads continued to fall in 2022, like previous years. It came down to 20 percent of $495 million.

Several other factors have also played a role in the revival of vinyl culture, including increasing interest among youngsters, including Gen Z and millennials. If reports are to be believed, it is said that Gen Z listeners are more likely to choose vinyl than the average music listener. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic also played a major role in vinyl's revival, as it gave Americans the opportunity to try retro music styles rather than digital mobile-based applications like YouTube and Spotify.

"2022 was an impressive year of sustained 'growth over growth' more than a decade after streaming's explosion onto the music scene," said RIAA chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier, who spoke to Rolling Stone. "Continuing that long run, subscription streaming revenues now make up two-thirds of the market with a robust record high of $13.3 billion. This long and ongoing arc of success has only been possible thanks to the determined and creative work of record companies fighting to build a healthy streaming economy where artists and rights holders get paid wherever and whenever their work is used," he added.

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