Vinyl sales pass 1m mark for the first time in almost two decades!

PLUS Pink Floyd’s The Endless River claims the highest first week vinyl sales since 1997.
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Vinyl has passed the one million yearly sales mark for the first time in 18 years.

2014’s vinyl sales have already surpassed last year’s total of 780,674, the Official Charts Company can confirm. And with the busy ol’ Christmas shopping period still to come, sales look to rise to a projected 1.2m by the end of the year.

Having increased fivefold in the last five years, sales last peaked over the million mark back in 1996.

The BPI’s Gennaro Castaldo comments: “We have entered an exciting best-of-all-worlds era where there is space and scope for all kinds of music to be discovered and enjoyed in every type of way, including on vinyl once again. Many of us assumed it had become an obsolete format, but while the flame may have flickered, it never quite went out, and we are now seeing a burgeoning resurgence in demand led by exciting new acts such as Royal Blood that is likely to keep vinyl on our high streets for many more years to come.”

Official Charts Chief Executive, Martin Talbot, adds: “In scoring the biggest opening week for a vinyl album this millennium, Pink Floyd’s The Endless River illustrates the British public’s renewed love for this format, which is on course to become a £20million business this year – an incredible turnaround from barely £3m just five years ago. This resurgence also underlines music fans’ continuing fascination with the album.”

Compared to the 10% share of the music market accounted for by audio streaming, vinyl’s increased sales still show the sector as a relatively niche, with a share of just 2%.

Take a look at the yearly vinyl sales and market share percentages for the last 20 years, below:

YEAR LP SALES MARKET SHARE
1994    1,453,718 2.20%
1995    1,410,905 1.60%
1996    1,083,206 1.00%
1997       817,018 0.70%
1998       642,102 0.50%
1999       672,866 0.60%
2000       751,857 0.60%
2001       761,558 0.50%
2002       657,127 0.40%
2003       579,248 0.40%
2004       453,254 0.30%
2005       351,224 0.20%
2006       250,926 0.20%
2007       205,292 0.10%
2008       208,526 0.20%
2009       219,449 0.20%
2010       234,471 0.20%
2011       337,041 0.30%
2012       388,768 0.40%
2013       780,674 0.80%
2014    1,200,000 *    2.0% *

*projected tbc © 2014 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

Topping the 2014 year-to-date chart are Arctic Monkeys with their fifth Number 1 studio album, AM, followed by Jack White with Lazaretto, at 2.

Pink Floyd’s recent Official Albums Chart Number 1, The Endless River, sold over 6,000 vinyl copies in its first week on sale, making in the fastest-selling vinyl album of the century so far and the third best-selling vinyl of the year to date.

Royal Blood’s self-titled debut, which in August became the fastest-selling rock debut in three years, is at 4, followed by Oasis, the only act to appear in the 1996, 2014 and current Top 10 best-sellers, with Definitely Maybe at 5.

Check out the Top 10 best-selling vinyls of both 2014 and 1996 below.

Official Vinyl Albums Chart – year-to-date Top 10 artist albums (w/e 22 November 2014):

1 AM ARCTIC MONKEYS
2 LAZARETTO JACK WHITE
3 THE ENDLESS RIVER PINK FLOYD
4 ROYAL BLOOD ROYAL BLOOD
5 DEFINITELY MAYBE OASIS
6 THE STONE ROSES STONE ROSES
7 THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON PINK FLOYD
8 LED ZEPPELIN LED ZEPPELIN
9 LED ZEPPELIN 3 LED ZEPPELIN
10 LED ZEPPELIN 2 LED ZEPPELIN

© 2014 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

Official Vinyl Albums Chart – 1996 Top 10 artist albums:

1 THE SCORE FUGEES
2 1977 ASH
3 (WHAT'S THE STORY) MORNING GLORY? OASIS
4 SECOND TOUGHEST IN THE INFANTS UNDERWORLD
5 EXPECTING TO FLY BLUETONES
6 ANTHOLOGY 2 BEATLES
7 ENDTRODUCING..... DJ SHADOW
8 ARKHAM ASYLUM SASHA
9 ANTHOLOGY 3 BEATLES
10 K KULA SHAKER

© 2014 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

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