One would think that an increase in vinyl sales would require a corresponding increase in turntables. As it turns out, however, about half of all vinyl LP buyers do Of which She owns a record player, according to a recent study by music sales data company Luminate (via Music Business Worldwide).
Luminate’s “Top Entertainment Trends for 2023” report found that among the 3,900 U.S. respondents surveyed, “50% of consumers who bought vinyl in the past 12 months own a record player, compared to 15% among music listeners in general.” So – feel free to check our calculations here again – it says 50% of vinyl buyers over the past year have no way to play these records at home.
Luminate appears to attribute these stats largely to “super fans,” which it defines as “music listeners who spend above-average (average) time and money on music, actively discover new music, and participate in music-related activities on social media.” , and they plan to attend a live music event within the next 12 months.”
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However, the vast majority of music revenue — 84% in 2022 — still comes from streaming services, which could indicate that a lot of these “super fans” are operating more on an integral mindset and tend to buy vinyl just to own it rather than listen. to it necessarily. It’s also worth noting that the best-selling albums on vinyl last year were Taylor Swift’s albums midnight (945,000 copies), Harry Styles Harry’s house (480,000), and Olivia Rodrigo sour (263,000) – All famous artists have ardent fan bases.
But the vinyl craze extends far beyond the world of young pop artists, too: Last year, Jack White called on major record companies to build their own vinyl record pressing plants in an effort to smooth out manufacturing delays. Last month, Metallica bought its own pressing plant after its albums were pressed to vinyl nearly a million times in 2022.
