Vinyl tops CD sales - first time since 1987

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digitaldrummer
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Vinyl tops CD sales - first time since 1987

Post by digitaldrummer » Tue Mar 14, 2023 5:49 pm

of course it was largely due to 2 artists, and yes those same 2 drove CD sales up a few years earlier if I recall, so I don't really think that's the big story. What I'm seeing here is that there is still more streaming (and those same 2 benefit from that too). Now if the powers that be could only see in their hearts to fix the royalties coming from said streaming... :roll:

https://www.npr.org/2023/03/10/11625687 ... 87-records
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Re: Vinyl tops CD sales - first time since 1987

Post by markjazzbassist » Wed Mar 15, 2023 7:20 am

graph still shows solid growth each year. i don't care who's selling it, the kids are into it now and long may it continue. cassette is on the rise as well still growing each year. physical analog media has a place.

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Re: Vinyl tops CD sales - first time since 1987

Post by kslight » Wed Mar 15, 2023 11:49 am

Though it reads like a positive spin, Still doesn’t seem like a lot. And if you look at total units sold, pulling an example 1995 jagged little pill sold 33 million …2022 Taylor swift midnights sold 1.8 million.

I wish there was a way to know how much of the vinyl released today actually gets played on a turntable. I would assume a large percentage is probably just treated like a collectible tchotchsky.

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Re: Vinyl tops CD sales - first time since 1987

Post by markjazzbassist » Wed Mar 15, 2023 12:40 pm

jagged little pill didn't sell 33 mil vinyl though, it sold 33mil worldwide. a conglomeration of cd, vinyl, cassette, minidisc, digital, etc.

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Re: Vinyl tops CD sales - first time since 1987

Post by kslight » Wed Mar 15, 2023 2:44 pm

markjazzbassist wrote:
Wed Mar 15, 2023 12:40 pm
jagged little pill didn't sell 33 mil vinyl though, it sold 33mil worldwide. a conglomeration of cd, vinyl, cassette, minidisc, digital, etc.
Indeed, and same with Midnights.

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Re: Vinyl tops CD sales - first time since 1987

Post by vvv » Wed Mar 15, 2023 3:21 pm

somewhat ot but i listened to jagged li'l pill (always appreciated the title's double meaning) recently

it has held up well
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Re: Vinyl tops CD sales - first time since 1987

Post by digitaldrummer » Wed Mar 15, 2023 5:34 pm

kslight wrote:
Wed Mar 15, 2023 11:49 am
I would assume a large percentage is probably just treated like a collectible tchotchsky.
Agree totally. Some may listen once or twice then go back to streaming. Others put it on their USB turntable and convert it to MP3 because, you know, that analog sound....
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Re: Vinyl tops CD sales - first time since 1987

Post by kslight » Thu Apr 27, 2023 4:15 am


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Re: Vinyl tops CD sales - first time since 1987

Post by markjazzbassist » Thu Apr 27, 2023 6:48 am

who cares? they're buying physical art and that's what counts. do you make stipulations "you can only listen to this, and it must be on a marantz tube unit" when you sell your art? i don't care if people eat dinner off my record, it's theirs, they bought it, and bless them for actually paying for it and not just streaming it or stealing it. i don't understand these types of articles. like some sort of judgement on vinyl owners, was this article paid for by spotify or something? FFS

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Re: Vinyl tops CD sales - first time since 1987

Post by digitaldrummer » Thu Apr 27, 2023 12:55 pm

It's just an article confirming (as suspected earlier in this thread) that many who buy vinyl have no way to play it. Someone confirmed it in a survey. Ok. I have no reason to get upset about it. I guess I was kinda glad to see the confirmation in writing.

The difference I see today is that many who are just buying it as artwork (or a collectible) are then listening to streaming (which wasn't an option before). That vinyl purchase might help some musicians a lot more than the streaming. When vinyl was in it's heyday, I doubt that those who bought it also bought the 8-track or cassette. In fact I'm confident that many of them (like myself and all my friends) immediately recorded it to a cassette so they could listen in the car too (or boombox, walkman... yikes! or whatever). So yeah, many of my albums also only got played once or twice.

I still haven't found a profitable plan - or even one that would break even - for making/selling vinyl for my own music or any of my bands yet. Everyone I know that is considering it knows they will probably lose money on the deal too. It's different for Adele and Taylor. :lol:
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Re: Vinyl tops CD sales - first time since 1987

Post by markjazzbassist » Fri Apr 28, 2023 6:54 am

the way i have seen for most artists (label or no label), is PRE-ORDER only for vinyl. They announce the records, leak 2 tracks, then you can buy the vinyl but you gotta pay upfront. you get it 6-8 months later. this ensures they only order the amount sold and profit or break even. i've seen the same with books by up and coming authors. with all the social media, it's hard to gauge legit interest and just blind followers.

This is from bigger following (Vulfpeck) to smaller/medium labels (Brownswood Records) and pretty much most things i see on Bandcamp.

Personally i like this model (although i wish i could listen to more of the record beforehand to gauge whether to buy or not) because it makes sense for consumer and artist. it seems fair to me.

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Re: Vinyl tops CD sales - first time since 1987

Post by vvv » Fri Apr 28, 2023 12:48 pm

digitaldrummer wrote:
Thu Apr 27, 2023 12:55 pm
In fact I'm confident that many of them (like myself and all my friends) immediately recorded it to a cassette so they could listen in the car too (or boombox, walkman... yikes! or whatever). So yeah, many of my albums also only got played once or twice.

When I was at uni I had this pair of friends - they were roomates - who, like many of us, spent their spare dosh on beer, pizza, weed and albums. These guys would buy a cuppla-3 albums a week and then play them once, only to make a cassette transfer. They did it to "preserve" the vinyl.

The weird thing was, they were both kinda punk dudes, turning me on to Joy Division, The Ruts UK, The Vibrators and The Damned while sharing my love of the Pistols and The Clash. They also turned me on to power-pop like Shoes, Brams Tchaikovsky, Ian Gomm, Nick Lowe, Code Blue, etc.

"Stunning" Steve and Paul, you out there?

I, myself have hadda whole lotta vinyl in boxes in my garage for the last 20 years, over 1K ...
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Re: Vinyl tops CD sales - first time since 1987

Post by markjazzbassist » Mon May 01, 2023 6:36 am

vvv wrote:
Fri Apr 28, 2023 12:48 pm
digitaldrummer wrote:
Thu Apr 27, 2023 12:55 pm
In fact I'm confident that many of them (like myself and all my friends) immediately recorded it to a cassette so they could listen in the car too (or boombox, walkman... yikes! or whatever). So yeah, many of my albums also only got played once or twice.

When I was at uni I had this pair of friends - they were roomates - who, like many of us, spent their spare dosh on beer, pizza, weed and albums. These guys would buy a cuppla-3 albums a week and then play them once, only to make a cassette transfer. They did it to "preserve" the vinyl.

The weird thing was, they were both kinda punk dudes, turning me on to Joy Division, The Ruts UK, The Vibrators and The Damned while sharing my love of the Pistols and The Clash. They also turned me on to power-pop like Shoes, Brams Tchaikovsky, Ian Gomm, Nick Lowe, Code Blue, etc.

"Stunning" Steve and Paul, you out there?

I, myself have hadda whole lotta vinyl in boxes in my garage for the last 20 years, over 1K ...
they recently sold the collection and bought a small island i heard. prices are very high, and keep getting higher. it's a collectable.

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