Vinyl records outsell CDs for the first time in decades
Vinyl records could be making a big comeback.
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) says for the first time in more than three decades vinyl records outsold CD's.
More than 41 million vinyl albums were sold last year, bringing in a whopping $1.2 billion.
According to the BBC, only 33 million CDs were sold last year totaling $483 million.
Overall, revenue for recorded music in 2022 increased by 6%, according to the report released by the RIAA, driven largely by streaming but also by physical music format sales.
The report found that revenue for physical music formats has steadily risen over the years. Physical music revenues as a whole were up 4% last year, propelled by vinyl records which saw a 17% increase. Meanwhile, revenue from CDs fell 18%.
Physical copies of music continued to perform better than digital downloads, the report found, which saw yet another decline in revenue, dropping by 20% to $495 million.
Last year's vinyl record sales demonstrate that vinyl is "cementing its role as a fixture of the modern music marketplace," RIAA Chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier said in a post on Medium.
