Is vinyl’s resurgence a passing trend or here to stay?

Over recent years vinyl has seen a dramatic increase in sales with a 606% increase in sales between 2003 and 2017.  

This is a massive increase in a technology that most people believed to be obsolete.  

This trend clearly indicates a massive boost in vinyl sales, but this begs the question who’s buying vinyl and what genres are proving to be the most popular?

To find out more about the topic we spoke to Gordon Gibson the owner of action records Preston in-order to find out where these sales are coming from.  

Mr. Gibson said “a fad of young people getting into it (vinyl) you know weather that lasts is a different thing , but that has always been the case.” and says that there has been an increase in groups shopping for vinyl making the buying process more of a social experience. 

When asked about specific age ranges, he states vinyl has become “an open playing field”  

However, the popularity is beginning to “level out” which he credits to the pricing of records having previously said that an average record can cost a listener 30 pounds. 

He warns that record companies over pricing their records could potentially “kill the golden goose” 

Statistics from Luminate found that jazz and world music have proved the most popular kind of records however many pop artists such as Taylor swift have released their music on vinyl.  

This makes vinyl more accessible to younger consumers as their tastes are catered to.  

In short vinyl resurgence looks as though it’s here to stay amongst a younger audience as many people wish to keep physical copies of their records and Gordon Heavily credits packaging as part of this.  

Mr. Gibson says that “smart covers” – which are well designed record sleeves – could contribute to more sales as they appeal to a younger audience.