Vinyl Records To Outsell CDs For First Time Since 1986

Vinyl > CDs (Twin Design/Shutterstock)

The rich deep tones of the needle finding the groove along with endless lost hours studying album art are back! CNET cites a report in ROLLING STONE that sales of vinyl records will soon start generating more annual income than compact discs for the first time since 1986.

ROLLING STONE reports that not only have vinyl albums enjoyed constant growth in recent years, but according to the RECORDING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA's 2019 midyear report CD sales have plummeted to near vinyl levels. 

CD sales are still ahead of vinyl sales but barely and dropping fast. Last year's RIAA report showed CD sales are declining three times as fast as vinyl sales are growing.

Even though vinyl may soon outpace CDs, streaming still remains the most popular way to consume music, accounting for 80% of industry revenues, and growing 26%, to $4.3 billion, for the first half of 2019. Given enough time, anyone who can build an album display shelf out of jewel cases might be in luck. 

« see more Net News