Albums sold on vinyl and cassette both saw double digit sales growth in the US last year, according to a new report produced by BuzzAngle (via Genius). Vinyl sales grew by just shy of 12 percent from 8.6 to 9.7 million sales, while cassette sales grew by almost 19 percent from 99,400 to 118,200 copies sold in the US. It wasn’t quite the 41.8 percent growth seen in music streaming, but it’s still very impressive for two formats that are decades old.
The popularity of both physical formats seems to be being driven by sales of older albums. BuzzAngle reports that over 66 percent of vinyl sales are of albums that are over three years old, with releases from Michael Jackson, The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac and Pink Floyd all featuring in the list of the bestselling vinyls from last year. Although a 2014 Guardians of the Galaxy compilation album claimed the top spot once again, this appears to be the exception rather than the rule.
Cassette sales do seem to be driven a little more by newer releases, but the majority sold (52.5 percent) were still over three years old. However, the report noted that just under 32 percent of sales were of albums that were under a year and a half old, compared to around a quarter of vinyl sales.
Despite the increasing popularity of older formats, physical album sales are still in decline overall thanks to CDs. The small digital discs are in the unfortunate position of having all of the drawbacks of physical media with none of the retro appeal, and retailers including Best Buy are increasingly refusing to stock them. Although they continue to be the most popular physical format with over 60 million sales, CDs declined by 18.5 percent in popularity last year, leading to a total decline in physical album sales of over 15 percent.
Ultimately though, the continued growth of streaming meant that music consumption increased overall throughout the course of the year. The popularity of audio streams increased by a massive 41.8 percent last year (the biggest increase of any area) and accounted for three quarters of the music industry’s revenue as of September 2018.
Comments
People are stupid why buy either when there is digital ? much higher quality .
Digital > Analog easy .
By Ammar Abotouk on 01.06.19 9:58am
I’ll get the the popcorn,dis gonna be good!
But I agree with you, am 52, did the record and tapes era, digital high bitstream for me from now on. Gone is the hiss and pops of that old crap. Millenials sheesh
By Darthdearth on 01.06.19 10:33am
Most millennials only use digital. Let’s be honest: there’s a few older people stuck in their ways and some millennial hipsters leading this growth.
By Stone Cold Dan Quinn on 01.06.19 10:46am
Exactly my point ¯\(ツ)/¯
By Ammar Abotouk on 01.06.19 1:13pm
There is something to be said about owning your own collection of music.
And a 12" freshly pressed and properly mastered single will beat out any streaming or CD quality track.
By Doge Man on 01.06.19 12:51pm
I own my music too and I HATE streaming ,my library is digital i can back it up I can stream it if i want to listen to a song i dont have on my phone , it’s so versatile .
By Ammar Abotouk on 01.06.19 1:12pm
I think having both vinyl and a digital copy of the same music is the way to go. Then maybe also curate your own Spotify or YouTube Playlist as well for the convenience factor. Could even make the YouTube list private.
By Doge Man on 01.06.19 1:28pm
no.
By The Quik Mix on 01.06.19 1:19pm
About what? The vinyl sounding better?
Actually yeah, especially in the low end.
Also if you take care of your equipment and have it set up properly, there won’t be any cracks or hiss.
By Doge Man on 01.06.19 1:31pm
Meh, it’s a toss up. And pops and hiss can still happen if you get a bad pressing, even when you take proper care and have a proper setup. Don’t get me wrong, I like the sound of vinyl and haven’t purchased anything but vinyl since 2002, but it’s not overwhelmingly better than a CD. Frankly, they’re just better at different things (which you may value differently than others).
By GoodTroll on 01.06.19 5:09pm
It’s true, the pressing can’t be crap. I’ve gotten a couple of those.
By Doge Man on 01.06.19 7:02pm
Yep. I’ve had occasional bad luck. I had luck taking one back because it was severely warped on the edge closest to the fold in the gatefold, but most of the time you kind of get stuck with it. But I also have a record cleaner (the vacuum type) that helps out a lot, as do the Mobile Fidelity "Original Master" sleeves. You have to love vinyl, but it loves you back if you care for it…
By GoodTroll on 01.07.19 1:27pm
With all things equal – a properly mastered CD will beat a properly master vinyl – the CD simply has more usable dynamic range and better S/N ratio. The only issue is finding a properly mastered CD is extremely hard today due to the loudness war which has messed up CD mastering techniques and practices for decades. The only reason vinyl (especially old vinyls) sounds better is because they aren’t dynamically crushed by normalizers employed by poor CD mastering practices and loudness presets which makes CD sound flat and lifeless, not because they are analog. The major issue is what’s avaliable on the market today – the customer only usually gets to choose between a decent vinyl master vs a crap CD master – usually a vinyl with DR15 vs like DR4 on the CD, in which case, I would also pick vinyl too even with all of the disadvantage of the format, but that’s not what things should be…
It’s fine if you prefer the warmer sound of the vinyl with their distortions over CDs, but it is not technically better than CDs, the facts simply doesn’t support it.
By houkoholic on 01.06.19 1:51pm
They also have his thing called Harmonic Distortion.
But yes, I’d say with proper equipment and with most of the CDs these days, a record will usually win.
By Doge Man on 01.06.19 1:56pm
Digital is only really higher quality if you’re listening to a high resolution, lossless format. And I listen to those too, but most people certainly don’t.
I think it’s also a mistake to think this is a zero sum game. I’ll bet most people buying vinyl are like me. Some albums I buy on vinyl, some on CD, some on high res digital, some just as mp3 (which is cheaper, usually). The one thing I don’t do is stream, because I want quality and I want to own my music.
Oh, I also don’t buy cassettes. That is a revival I don’t personally understand. Unlike vinyl which has a lot of advantages (as long as you’re listening at home), cassette is the worst of all worlds – no big cover art or liner notes, hiss, bad signal to noise and dynamic range, etc. It’s all the bad things about lossy digital files with none of the convenience.
By badasscat1 on 01.06.19 1:22pm
Cassettes are fun for that ‘live sound’.
I have a few shows recorded on tape, and there is something about it. It sounds sort of muddy and thick, but that’s almost what makes it feel more live. I suppose that makes more sense with gritty bar shows and underground venues, not with something like classical or performance halls.
Also there is something endearing about just popping in a tape to record your jam with your friends. It’s fun.
By Doge Man on 01.06.19 2:00pm
I still miss my Minidisc mixetapes
Lost them during one of my moves.
By Doge Man on 01.06.19 2:15pm
Ah, the minidisc. Those were good days. Probably still my favorite piece of tech I’ve ever owned. Built like a tank and it kind of amazed everyone I ever showed it to. I shouldn’t have ever sold it. I still have a few minidisc recordings of me and my friends jamming, but I’ll probably never be able to listen to them again.
By GoodTroll on 01.06.19 5:14pm
I am sorry I should have mentioned that i meant of course FLAC files
By Ammar Abotouk on 01.06.19 11:42pm
I like to buy an artifact and support the band. Honestly, I’m not likely to listen to the physical album that often; I’m much more likely to stream it, whether it’s in my car, on my Echo, or even over AirPlay to the Stereo. But if I’m going to own something, I’d prefer a vinyl record over a CD. Bigger album art, the physicality of it all and the notalgia, and the feeling of superiority when I play it on my nice turntable, etc. (just being honest here). I haven’t purchased anything but vinyl since 2002 or so.
By GoodTroll on 01.06.19 5:06pm
Why cassettes? Those suck.
By zedx79 on 01.06.19 12:04pm
nostalgia
By victorstuber on 01.06.19 3:13pm
Sorry guys, that was me. I clicked the wrong button on Amazon and accidentally bought Pearl Jam’s "Ten" on cassette.
By Grouchy Ivan on 01.09.19 9:19am
I’ll be 57 in March and while I enjoy my vinyl records and have the ability to record them onto my computer, I still prefer cds simply because it’s easier for me to rip. I don’t stream simply because, with my physical media I don’t have to.
But cassettes? That just boggles my mind. Yes, I have cassettes (many of which I have had for 15 or more years) but I don’t quite get buying a new cassette, popping it into a player and, if something goes wrong with it your investment is now tangled and stretched in the player.
Not fun, and I don’t care to go back to that period of my life (which is why, if I get the urge to listen to a cassette I’ll do it while transferring it to my PC).
By The Relic on 01.06.19 6:15pm
Oddly, that’s never happened to me.
By Doge Man on 01.07.19 1:35pm