Business News Labels & Publishers Retail

A million vinyl albums will be sold in the UK this month, predicts BPI

By Chris Cooke | Published on Friday 1 December 2017

It’s got rather cold in the UK this week, so for those of you who are UK-based, how about we spend a couple of minutes together bathing in the warmth of the vinyl revival. Yes, that’s right, the vinyl revival. The vinyl fucking rival.

Record industry trade body BPI has predicted that a million vinyl albums will be sold this month. That prediction is partly based on the customary boost in record sales – and especially physical product sales – that you see in the run up to Christmas, and also specific trends in the UK vinyl market, both this year and around the festive period in recent years.

If the BPI is correct, and a million vinyl albums are indeed sold this month, that would be a 26.1% increase on the same period last year and would constitute the highest December volume of vinyl sales since the UK industry started tracking such things in 1994. It would also take vinyl LP sales for the year to around four million. Good fucking times.

Now here’s BPI boss Geoff Taylor with some words: “More and more of us have been rediscovering the joys of vinyl as artists and labels release more of their new titles and classic albums in the format. The aesthetic appeal of vinyl albums also make them a highly desirable Christmas gift item that friends and family will love to receive. Vinyl is aspirational, collectible and has a high perceived value despite being generally affordable, and this December we’re expecting more than one million [vinyl] LPs to be purchased”.

Now that this bold prediction has been made, what if everyone suddenly goes off vinyl en masse this weekend? I mean, the vinyl revival is one thing, but who doesn’t hark back to that magnificent month in the magical musical heyday that was 2006 when they sold music on USB sticks. Surely we’re overdue the USB stick revival any day now?

Just to ensure that doesn’t happen this side of the new year – so to help the BPI’s prediction come true – here’s the owner of record shop Sister Ray with a quick reminder of why vinyl is so fucking good.

“Vinyl makes a great gift, especially as it’s perceived as a premium purchase”, says Phil Barton. “Not only does the recipient get a great present but the buyer knows their gift will be appreciated and won’t be forgotten by Boxing Day. We see a lot of customers intent on buying ‘the right gift’ – buying vinyl means everyone wins”.

So, to conclude: vinyl revival, fuck yeah!