The State Of Music In 2016: Vinyl Vs. Digital

For the first time ever, vinyl music album sales have surpassed digital music album sales in the U.K., the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) revealed. As per the data, week 48 of 2016 saw 2.4 million pounds (about $3 million) worth of vinyl sales versus 2.1 million pounds ($2.65 million) worth of digital sales.

Interestingly, what the information shows is that overall sales dropped by almost 20 percent year-over-year. So, while vinyl sales doubled in relation to the same weeks last year, digital album sales tumbled by 52 percent.

The ERA suggested that the spike in vinyl sales could be related to Record Store Day and Black Friday sales, the increasing number of retailers and supermarkets that sell these albums and the surging popularity of giving people LPs for Christmas.

“Ultimately, in this digital world our customers are continually looking for a tangible, physical way to celebrate their love for their favourite artists — something that digital services simply cannot offer,” RSD board member Adam Gillison told "The Independent."

Confirming A Trend

Earlier this year, BPI reported that vinyl sales had translated into larger revenue for artists than Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL’s YouTube video reproductions. Similar conclusions have been drawn in relation to Spotify and Pandora Media Inc P, among other streaming and music download services.

“[D]ominant tech platforms like YouTube are able to abuse liability protections as royalty havens, dictating terms so they can grab the value from music for themselves, at the expense of artists,” BPI CEO Geoff Taylor explained.