Vinyl sales hit a major milestone back in 2022, with sales outstripping CDs for the first time since 1987… but the same can’t be said for record players.
A recent study rolled out by music sales data company Luminate discovered something weird with their ‘Top Entertainment Trends for 2023’ report.
Out of 3,900 US survey respondents, “50% of consumers who have bought vinyl in the past 12 months own a record player, compared to 15% among music listeners overall,” meaning that half of the people who bought vinyl in the past year don’t actually own a turntable. Yep. Half.
This isn’t the first time researchers have noticed a distinct disconnect between vinyl purchases and turntable ownership. A 2016 survey by ICM found that 41% of vinyl buyers own a turntable but don’t use it, and another 7% don’t own one at all.
So, what’s going on here?
It seems vinyl is being bought as much for nostalgia and aesthetics as it is for listening to music.
Perhaps it’s the tactile experience of holding a physical record, the cool album artwork, or the warm audio quality. Of course it’s also a way of gifting this magic – you can’t really wrap and put a bow on a streaming playlist. There’s also something to be said about diehard ‘superfans’ who are happy to ‘buy-to-own’ rather than ‘buy-to-listen’.
Although vinyl sales continue on the upswing, the digital platform still reigns supreme.
In 2022, 84% of music revenue came from streaming services.
