UK vinyl sales at highest level since 1990 – as Taylor Swift leads the way
More vinyl LPs were bought this year than at any time since 1990 and are growing at their fastest rate this decade.
With just a few more days to go to year-end, the vinyl market has increased by nearly 12%, rising for the 16th year in a row, according to analysis of Official Charts data by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
Over a quarter of a million vinyl albums were sold in the week before Christmas, the highest sales for the format this century.
Continuing her domination of the music industry and pop culture as a whole, Taylor Swift‘s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) was the best-selling vinyl album, and the 33-year-old star took two more slots in the top ten with Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and Midnights.
The Rolling Stones took second place with Hackney Diamonds, their first album of original songs in 18 years.
Ed Sheeran, Lana Del Rey, and Blur also made the top ten, which featured seven new releases.
British artists featured heavily in the 100 most-purchased vinyl LPs of 2023, accounting for more than 40% of the sales.
Events including Record Store Day, which is held every April, and National Album Day in October, have helped boost vinyl sales.
The increased demand for music releases in a physical format has been reflected by the re-opening of music and entertainment chain HMV’s flagship shop on London’s Oxford Street in November.
CDs are making a comeback of sorts
And it’s not just vinyl enjoying a resurgence – nearly 11 million CDs – which remain important commercially and to Official Charts success – were sold across the year (its smallest annual decline in nearly a decade).
Take That’s This Life was the year’s top CD, having sold more than 100,000 copies in its first week of release in November.
Meanwhile sales of cassettes topped 100,000 for the fourth consecutive year.
‘There’s a warmth to the recording’
Gennaro Castaldo, BPI director of communications told Sky News people are celebrating the “incredible choice” available to them, and often won’t buy a vinyl album or CD instead of streaming it, but as well as streaming it.
As for buying habits, he said: “During COVID, record sales went up as people were ordering from home and record stores like HMV, and other retailers were very smart in really increasing their online offering as well.”
Praising the “brilliant relationship” between streaming and buying a physical musical item, he said many artists saw releasing on vinyl as “a badge of honour” allowing them to form “an emotional connection” with their fans.
He also praised both the sound quality and interactive nature of records: “There’s a warmth to the recording that makes you feel like you’re in the studio when you hear it, and a ritual around it as well.
“You come to shops, you buy it, you take it back, you put it on your record player, you tease the needle to the edge, you hear that that warm sound, and you just immerse yourself in that experience.
“And then of course you have to interact because at the end of the first side, you have to flip it over to listen to the other songs.”
And he says it’s not just baby boomers who are buying vinyl: “Increasingly, Gen Z Millennials and younger fans can see the appeal, maybe they raided their parents collections and they’re starting to build up their own collections, not just new artists like Taylor Swift, but the likes of Pink Floyd and the Stones, The Beatles and others because they’re hungry to kind of get all the older albums which to them is brand new, of course.”
Top 10 best-selling vinyl albums 2023
Taylor Swift – 1989 (Taylor’s Version)
The Rolling Stones – Hackney Diamonds
Lana Del Rey – Did You Know There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
Taylor Swift – Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)
Fleetwood Mac – Rumours
Blur – The Ballad Of Darren
Pink Floyd – The Dark Side Of The Moon
Taylor Swift – Midnights
Olivia Rodrigo – Guts
Lewis Capaldi – Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent
Top 10 best-selling compact disc albums 2023
Take That – This Life
Taylor Swift – 1989 (Taylor’s Version)
The Rolling Stones – Hackney Diamonds
Lewis Capaldi – Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent
Ed Sheeran – – (Subtract)
P!nk – Trustfall
Foo Fighters – But Here We Are
Metallica – 72 Seasons
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Council Skies
Kylie Minogue – Tension