Vinyl records beat CDs in sales for the first time since 1987

Data from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) earnings report suggests that vinyl records are once again rapidly gaining popularity.

Here's What We Know

According to the report, vinyl record sales have been gradually increasing over the past 16 years. And at the end of last year they overtook CDs in sales for the first time since 1987. To date, they account for 71% of all revenues from physical music formats, or $1.7 billion.

At the same time, CD sales fell 18% in 2022. At the end of the year, 33 million of them were sold, while 41 million copies of vinyl records were sold.

In the US, the best selling vinyl records in 2022 were Taylor Swift (1.7 million copies), Harry Styles (719,000) and The Beatles (553,000).

Vinyl record sales were also up in the UK, Germany, Japan and South Korea. But music streaming still dominates the market.

Source: The Verge