Arctic Monkeys in New York (Photo: Live4ever Media)
Sustained campaigns during the past few years have helped UK sales on the traditional vinyl format rise to its highest point in over a decade.
The Official Charts Company states that 532,000 records have been sold in the UK during 2013 – a rise of over 100% when compared to last year, and the best total for vinyl since 2003.
“We’re witnessing a renaissance for records – they’re no longer retromania and are becoming the format of choice for more and more music fans,” BPI chief executive Geoff Taylor believes.
That renaissance in vinyl began primarily with the launch of Record Store Day in 2008, and has been helped this year by the popularity of albums from the likes of Daft Punk, Arctic Monkeys and David Bowie.
“While sales only account for a small percentage of the overall market, vinyl sales are growing fast as a new generation discovers the magic of 12″ artwork, liner notes and the unique sound of analogue records, often accompanied by a download code for MP3s,” Taylor continues. “As we look forward to new LPs from Arcade Fire and Jake Bugg in the run up to Christmas, the vinyl revival looks set to continue.”
Top 10 selling vinyl albums of 2013 so far:
1/ Daft Punk – ‘Random Access Memories’
2/ Arctic Monkeys – ‘AM’
3/ David Bowie – ‘The Next Day’
4/ Boards Of Canada – ‘Tomorrow’s Harvest’
5/ Queens Of The Stone Age – ‘… Like Clockwork’
6/ Atoms For Peace – ‘Amok’
7/ Vampire Weekend – ‘Modern Vampires Of The City’
8/ The National – ‘Trouble Will Find Me’
9/ Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds – ‘Push The Sky Away’
10/ Black Sabbath – ’13’