Here’s something nobody could have predicted 10 years ago: Vinyl is currently on track to become a billion-dollar industry by the end of 2017. As The Vinyl Factory points out, new research compiled by Deloitte and reported by the Financial Times shows that the renewed interest in vinyl continues to grow at an astonishing clip. This corroborates the data music analytics service BuzzAngle Music recently compiled in its first-ever yearly report on US music consumption, which showed that vinyl sales rose 26% in 2016. What’s particularly noteworthy about Deloitte’s research, however, is that hallowed $1 billion number, a mark that vinyl has not surpassed since its heyday in the ’80s.
(Read: The 25 Best Selling Vinyl Releases of 2016)
Vinyl’s resurgence is even more remarkable considering that physical album sales continue to plummet as customers gravitate toward streaming services. As Paul Lee, head of technology, media, and telecoms at Deloitte, notes, “Consumers are choosing to buy something tangible and nostalgic and at a price point that provides record companies with significant revenues.”
In 2017, vinyl is expected to record double-digit growth for the seventh consecutive year, with an estimated 40 million records sold. That figure — along with the sales of turntables and other listening accessories — could push the industry over the $1 billion mark by year’s end. What a sad, lonely world.
