Physical Music Sales Poised for First Increase in Two Decades
Physical music sales are SET to increase for the first time in two decades, reversing years of decline overshadowed by streaming. According to the Official Charts Company and BPI, physical album sales have risen by 3.2% in the first half of 2024, totalling 8,044,760 units sold. This marks the first uptick since 2004, when digital music and streaming began dominating.
Taylor Swift’s ‘The Tortured Poets Department‘ led the surge, selling 254,241 copies. Other top sellers included Billie Eilish‘s ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft‘ (45,434 copies), The Last Dinner Party‘s debut album ‘Prelude To Ecstasy‘ (42,352 copies), and Liam Gallagher and John Squire’s self-titled album (46,982 copies). Rod Stewart and Jools Holland’s ‘Swing Fever‘ followed with 48,540 copies sold.
Vinyl sales have also seen a boost, reaching their highest weekly total in three decades in April, buoyed by Record Store Day and ‘The Tortured Poets Department‘ release. Combined vinyl album and singles sales hit 306,791 units.
However, the trend of releasing multiple vinyl formats to boost sales has drawn criticism for its environmental impact. Billie Eilish, among others, has spoken out against this practice, labelling it as “wasteful.”
“We live in this day and age where, for some reason, it’s very important to some artists to make all sorts of different vinyl and packaging,” Eilish said, “which ups the sales and ups the numbers and gets them more money.”
“It is right in front of our faces and people are just getting away with it left and right,” she added, “and I find it really frustrating as somebody who really goes out of my way to be sustainable and do the best that I can and try to involve everybody in my team in being sustainable — and then it’s some of the biggest artists in the world making f–king 40 different vinyl packages that have a different unique thing just to get you to keep buying more.”
The trend has become widespread in the industry. Swift’s 2022 album ‘Midnights’ was released in five different versions, eventually becoming the first album to outsell CDs with vinyl since the 1980s.
This news of the resurgence of physical music also comes after it was revealed that the number of independent record stores in the UK had reached its highest level in a decade, and vinyl record sales in the UK had reached their highest level since 1990.
According to the BPI’s analysis, the “continuously growing demand for vinyl albums and other physical music releases” reflects a “robust market for music on the main streets.” The popularity of independent record stores and the success of stores like HMV, which reopened its flagship store on Oxford Street in London last year, were also mentioned. The resurgence has also included the relaunch of the iconic UK music store ‘Our Price’, which closed its doors 20 years ago.
—Silviya.Y
