Vinyl Sales Soared Again In 2021

Vinyl sales soared to new levels in 2021, a BPI report confirms.

The new figures show that sales of vinyl rose once more in 2021, continuing a decade-long trend of recovery for the format.

In all, around a quarter of all albums bought in 2021 were on vinyl – some 23% – with ABBA’s ‘Voyage’ emerging as the highest-seller.

That’s the 14th consecutive year of growth, with overall sales up by 8% on 2020 as lockdown fans continue to placate pandemic anxiety by purchasing vinyl.

In second place on the sales list came Adele’s somewhat controversial ’30’ pressing, with Ed Sheeran’s ‘=’ in fourth; Fleetwood Mac’s classic album ‘Rumours’ is in third.

Meanwhile, sales of CDs continued to fall with just 14 million discs purchased in 2021 as supermarkets continue to shed their support for the format.

It represents the lowest figure since 1988 but the BPI emphasise that this drop is “bottoming out” after years of general decline.

(via BBC)