Vinyl album sales outstripped digital downloads for the first time last week (UK)

There are some downloaders that have switched to vinyl. I personally know some young people that have made this switch. Still, most are streaming now.

 

While you did have some vinyl as high as $10 (oddly which tended to be big catalog sellers) most new albums were $8 if they carried them. Around '88 most stores were getting rid of their vinyl. You could get many titles for $1 or less.

 

If you knew Rough Trade you'd know that those types of comments actually play up to their customer base and not against it. So in this case he is using Marketing 101

 

"$8 in 1988 were the equivalent of $18 in today's money." yeah and if you factor inflation in the total revenue of vinyl in 88 you would see it being larger than today

 

No he's not. He's describing his day to day business : selling a couple of evergreen products to passing tourists and ageing nostalgiacs isn't what a real record store's about.

 

It's Rough Trade, they trade on 'cool', plus they're the most expensive record shop in London...it ain't gonna affect their bottom line at all.

 

I've given up on it. The quality of new pressings is dreadful.

 

More profit to be made from streaming for the labels, for the reasons I specified earlier.

 

WTH are you buying? I just bought the new Kansas double lp, not a tick or crackle. Stevie Ray 45 rpm not a sound. Perhaps you need a record cleaning machine.

 

The Stones and Kate Bush albums sold out last week. I thought that was either (a) evidence of vinyl's popularity or (b) a sign that record companies still don't understand their market (or both).

 

I keep saying: Vinyl isn't for everyone. Feel free to jump off the bandwagon any time (not you, of course).

 

Not exactly. I think some folks are going back to vinyl. I also think that this is a smaller subset of folks and that they are still streaming lie some are buying what they like on vi yo others are not and keeping to streaming.

 

Music sales up 8.4%, to $3.4B, first 1/2 Yr -- fueled by paid subscription services »

 

It has been frustrating, but some, a few. have been quite excellent.

 

I've probably bought dozens of LP's in the last couple of years alone and offhand I remember three single discs that had problems. One had a huge scratch on one side, clear lapse of QC. I got a replacement disc immediately, didn't have to send the old one back. Another recent one had a few heavy clicks, replacement is on the way. One LP had very mild surface noise for a couple of seconds in the end of one track. I didn't bother swapping that.

On the other hand, I still grieve over my copy of The Hellacopters' High Visibility which has a tiny defect causing a couple of pops right in the middle of the "vinyl only" bonus track. Didn't dare to return it right away because the first pressing was selling out fast (and I mistook it for a speck that could be cleaned). That's the only one I'm still PO'd about, 15 years later.

 

Here in the UK, vinyl (alongside cheap ****ty little plastic turntables) are obviously this year's in Christmas gift to get dad and the kids.. I'm sure it will result in some developing a lasting love for the format, but most will chuck the towel in by the end of next year when the novelty wears off.

 

Indeed, I'm afraid it will be a temporary (fashion) hype for many of them. Why spend 30£ on a record to play it on a Crosley or even through PC-speakers these days.

Especially when those kids get partners that want a clean house/appartment when things getting serious Golden times for discogs.

 

This not true if one is purchasing hi-res downloads.

 

I bought almost every album from Neill Young available in hi-res for less than 5€ with Qobuz Sublime last week.

Many new releases (no backcatalogue are around 7,99€).

With their special actions you can literally grab many classic albums in hi-res for less than 5€.

 

Not here with HDtracks.

 

Or that this is a pattern of some kind. It was one week's worth of sales.

The interesting tidbit is that, since the first download sales started getting recorded at least, this is the first this has happened in the UK. Obviously going back 15 years+ ago, the numbers were different. As in zero for downloads.

 

There's been other threads on this, but I don't have this problem....at least not at the levels others do.

Maybe it's the LP's I buy. That's not to say I haven't gotten a few duds from time to time, but it's the exception more than the rule.