This Saturday, music shops all over the world are opening their doors to an ever-increasing number of vinyl enthusiasts.
Online markets and independent record stores will be stocking up on current best sellers as well as blasts from the past ahead of this year’s Record Store Day – set to be the biggest yet.
The consumption of music has taken many different forms over the years, with LPs, tapes and CDs dominating the market for decades.
At the start of the millennium, we were rapidly approaching a purely digital music world via iTunes downloading and the surge in streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music.
In the late 80s, as sales of Compact Disk players surpassed those of the gramophone, it looked as though vinyl was on its way out; by the mid 00’s, vinyl sales in the UK were struggling to hit more than 200,000 in a whole year.
Over the last 10 years however, LP sales have taken a huge U-turn as younger people start to take an interest in owning vinyl. This apparently is thanks to a record’s sound quality, sleeve artwork appreciation and as a way of supporting a favourite band.
Since 2013, vinyl sales have annually topped one million – something that 10 years ago seemed impossible. 2013 itself saw Artic Monkeys secure the number one slot for vinyl sales with their album AM, while 2014’s biggest selling LP was Jack White with his album Lazzaretto. Taking the top spot in 2015 was 25 by Adele.
Independent record stores have made a big comeback and every year on the third Saturday of April, all over the world, vinyl enthusiasts celebrate.
Record Store Day is the calendar highlight for vinyl enthusiasts and new releases this year are certainly something to be excited about. Following the death of the great David Bowie, Saturday will see a trio of re-mastered vinyl albums from the legend’s back catalogue while also gracing the shelves will be exclusive releases from Johnny Cash, Metallica, Bob Dylan, Madonna, Florence and the Machine and a tribute to Iggy Pop.
Whether you’re a vinyl collector or simply eager to see what all the fuss is about, get yourself down to a local record shop and see what you can find.
