Despite its nostalgic charm, the big vinyl record resurgence may be starting to slow down. A report from Digital Music News points to some recent Nielsen SoundScan numbers that show the throwback trend of digging on twelve-inches is starting to dwindle.
The numbers, which represent the U.S. market, reveal that while a couple of years back consumers were fetishizing the analog album format, sales growth for the medium has practically stalled this year.
Here are the figures:
2008: 1.88 million units sold, up 89.9 percent
2009: 2.5 million units sold, up 33.0 percent
mid-2010: 1.3 million, up 9.1 percent from the comparable half in 2009.
While the figures do seem skewed considering how slight LP sales are in the bigger picture -- for instance CD sales were at 373.9 million in 2009, while digital sales totalled 76.4 million -- the fact remains that vinyl sales appear to be stalling.
Let's face it, as cool as it is, vinyl isn't exactly the cheapest or most convenient format to pick up. More and more people are abandoning the physical format as the years go on and a pricey platter just doesn't seem worth it compared to a much cheaper iTunes purchase or, well, finding it online for free. Sad but true. That being said, the niche market will always have some that are willing to spin the black circle.
The numbers, which represent the U.S. market, reveal that while a couple of years back consumers were fetishizing the analog album format, sales growth for the medium has practically stalled this year.
Here are the figures:
2008: 1.88 million units sold, up 89.9 percent
2009: 2.5 million units sold, up 33.0 percent
mid-2010: 1.3 million, up 9.1 percent from the comparable half in 2009.
While the figures do seem skewed considering how slight LP sales are in the bigger picture -- for instance CD sales were at 373.9 million in 2009, while digital sales totalled 76.4 million -- the fact remains that vinyl sales appear to be stalling.
Let's face it, as cool as it is, vinyl isn't exactly the cheapest or most convenient format to pick up. More and more people are abandoning the physical format as the years go on and a pricey platter just doesn't seem worth it compared to a much cheaper iTunes purchase or, well, finding it online for free. Sad but true. That being said, the niche market will always have some that are willing to spin the black circle.
