UK vinyl sales reach highest level since 1990

nme.com:

vinyl records in the UK have hit their highest level since 1990.The revived popularity of the physical format has resulted in the 16th consecutive year of rising sales, according to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).The BPI added in a new report that the vinyl market has increased more than four times as fast with an 11.7 per cent rise to 5.9 million units in 2023.Taylor Swift‘s ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)‘ was the best-selling album of the year, followed by The Rolling Stones‘ ‘Hackney Diamonds‘.According to the BPI’s analysis, the “ever-rising demand for vinyl albums and other music releases on physical format” reflects a “thriving market for music on the high street”, citing the popularity of independent record stores and the success of shops like HMV, which reopened its flagship store on London’s Oxford Street this year.Additionally, seven of the 10 biggest vinyl LP sellers were records that came out in 2023, including Swift’s ‘Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)‘, Blur‘s ‘The Ballad Of Darren‘, Lana Del Rey‘s ‘Did You Know There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd‘, Lewis Capaldi‘s ‘Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent‘, and Kylie Minogue‘s ‘Tension‘.Analysis of @officialcharts data by the BPI reveals that vinyl LP purchases have risen for the 16th consecutive year in the UK in 2023 and are now growing at their fastest rate this decade.Read the full story: https://t.co/3115vH9NMo pic.twitter.com/PJFWGz5jGW— BPI (@bpi_music) December 28, 2023The report also found that British artists helped fuel vinyl growth, with more than 40 per cent of the 100 most-purchased vinyl LPs of 2023 released in the past two years including albums by UK artists.