Vinyl now is now the highest selling physical music category.
Australians are now spending more on vinyl than CDs, according to figures released by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).
The ARIA annual wholesale figures revealed Australians spent $37million on vinyl in 2022, compared to $20million on CDs. With purchases jumping 23% within the last year, vinyl now generates the most physical music sales in Australia.
Vinyl vs CD sales in Australia, 2012-2022
Blake Budak, president of the Australian Music Retailers Association and owner of iconic Canberra music retailer Landspeed Records, said the resurgence of vinyl should be credited to young people.
“Young people … they already know the records they’re buying. It’s artists they love, they’ve already streamed it, and now they want a physical version of it,” he said.
Age demographics of vinyl consumers
But Mr Budak stresses the interest in vinyl is not just down to memorabilia.
“If you have good setup, vinyl is going to sound 10 times better than streaming from Spotify or Apple,” he said.
Despite this, the ARIA figures point to streaming as the strongest driver of growth within the Australian music industry, generating $4.7billion in the last year alone. Vinyl follows, making it the fastest growing music sector and helping the industry mark its third consecutive year of growth.
Australian quarterly wholesale music sales, 2012 – 2022
ARIA Chief Executive Officer Annabelle Herd said the figures demonstrate the growing value of the sector as an economic contributor, with vinyl sales playing a significant role.
“The vinyl market is an increasingly important player as our market evolves, affording music fans across generations the opportunity to add classics to their collection,” she said.
“It is an important sector for independent artists, DJs and emerging subcultures that deserves serious recognition.”
With events like Record Store Day and the launch of both online and physical record retailers continuing to generate interest in vinyl, the vinyl revival shows no signs of slowing.
(Featured Image: EVAN YOUNG).
