A new report has claimed that the vinyl revival is about to undertake an impressive feat, with predictions that the format will outsell CDs for the first time since 1986.
Late last year, it was revealed that the 2019 Grammy Awards could have made history with its Album of the Year award. Months before the awards were handed out, the chances were good that the honour could have gone to a record not released on CD for the first time in 35 years.
As we now know, this didn’t take place, but the writing was already on the wall for the future, with previous claims that CDs are on the way out seemingly being confirmed by the fact that one of the year’s biggest releases was not issued on the format.
Now though, it looks as though 2019 is set to be known as the year which saw CDs take another dive, following predictions that vinyl will outsell its successor for the first time since 1986.
Check out how CDs are made:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut_40U0t9pU
According to a new mid-year report from the Recording Industry Association of America, 2019 has already seen a 6% increase in the number of vinyl units shipped, with a 12% increase in revenue up to $224.1 million.
Interestingly though, the CD format saw no increase in the number of units shipped, with its revenue raising by a minimal 0.8% to $247.9 million.
If these trends continue, the end of 2019 will see CD revenue increasing to just $249.8 million, while vinyl will outsell the format for the first time since 1986, reaching $253 million.
Despite these figures, the RIAA claims that vinyl sales only accounted for approximately 4% of overall revenues, with paid subscriptions to services such as Spotify and Apple Music dominating the industry at 62%.
So, while it looks as though the humble vinyl record might overtake its compact disc successor in terms of sales, it doesn’t seem like the turntable is the way of the future at the moment, with streaming continuing to reign supreme.
Check out how vinyl records are made:
