There’s been a lot of doom-and-gloom talk in the music industry for several years now. Execs keep blaming internet piracy for slumping sales figures while record stores large and small are closing their doors. But it seems like the industry keeps chugging back, refusing to fully die.
We previously noted a very tiny increase in sales for the first half of 2011 — up one percent compared to the first six months of 2010 — which was the first sales boost since 2004. It seems the good news continued through the rest of the year.
Nielsen SoundScan reported that vinyl records saw a huge bump in sales last year — 3.9 million units, compared to 2.8 million in 2010. That adds up to a 39.3 percent increase.
Vinyl has been slowly crawling back into public consciousness for a few years now, and it’s gone from a hipster-nostalgia thing to a more widespread resurgence. It’s possible to buy albums from some really popular artists on records, as opposed to just the obscure indie acts, which means the medium will naturally have more mass market appeal. And whatever else you might want to say about mass market appeal, the fact is that it will translate into larger sales.
Consumers aren’t stupid. For people to spend money, they have to be getting a product that’s worth it. As the Dead Kennedys said, “Sales are slumping and no one will say why. Could it be they put out one too many lousy records?”
Focusing on putting out higher quality records instead of flash-in-the-pan garbage will help. There were a lot of decent releases in 2011 from a lot of well-known acts, so that had to be a boost.
Records are, in fact, a really good way to keep people actually paying for music instead of pirating it, as well. A lot of fans love the tangible aspect of the format and the accompanying larger-scale artwork. Bands can also include extra incentives to make the deal even sweeter, like bonus tracks or free posters, that aren’t included in other versions. And if they put in a free download code, the listener can also grab a digital copy to load into their iPod.
Events like Record Store Day encourage artists to put out special edition releases, like singles or bonus tracks, that are available in limited quantities in selected stores. It makes people want them, and it’s pretty win-win — the consumer gets unique stuff on top of the album, and the artist gets to actually make a living.
[Chart via Digital Music News]
January 06, 2012 at 7:13 am, Martyn Thompson said:
So is it really true?? Internet Piracy?? I don’t think so. Look at the general fodder the “music industry” has given us over the years, of course there have been exceptions and we like to see these. Now look at the success of sites like SoundCloud, Bandcamp, ReverbNation, etc where music we actually LIKE is being made and often given away freely or at the very least, made affordable as there is no business stream of dead-wood execs having to have their cut.
The “music industry” for too long has had the monopoly on what we listen to and now the musician is dictating the terms and they (music industry) don’t like it. So now the execs blame internet piracy for their demise but it’s really anything but and it serves them right (the execs that is)! The music industry is very much alive and kicking, it’s just controlled now by different people, the musicians! If this is piracy then I’m raising the Jolly Rodger nice and high.
January 06, 2012 at 7:33 am, Ben T said:
Very well put.
January 08, 2012 at 10:56 pm, Clioromain said:
u forgot to mention “serato”,”traktor scratch”and all the other stuff which allows to play any music on a time-coded vinyl…more and more dj’s abandonned the vinyl because it was quite painful to bring them on tour…let’s say now it’s easier for them…anyway…
January 07, 2012 at 2:57 am, Dc Ooijer said:
@google-34ebc88ad73819e83bec755aa08a1302:disqus – That’s just weird what you are saying. The reason why we, musicians, use the internet (soundcloud, etc) nowadays is to get exposure, because of illigal downloading.. The music industry never had a monopoly on what we listen. You’ve just been lazy and cheap to go to a store, search for good music and spend money on it.
In other words you are saying that i.e. the restaurants have a monopoly on what we eat???
January 07, 2012 at 3:17 am, Ben T said:
“That’s just weird what you are saying. The reason why we, musicians, use the internet (soundcloud, etc) nowadays is to get exposure, because of illigal downloading..”
That is pretty much what he said
“The music industry never had a monopoly on what we listen.”
Commercial Radio stations have daytime playlists bought and payed for by record companies.
TV shows like the X Factor are viewed by more and more and they dictate the musical output, both on the show and the radio and tv daytime shows, saturating the media with utter drivel on a daily basis.. i think this is what he means here
“You’ve just been lazy and cheap to go to a store, search for good music and spend money on it.”
This is a social comment..and can be aimed at most of society.
“In other words you are saying that i.e. the restaurants have a monopoly on what we eat???”Consider the life of the average Joe, is spent working, then going to the high street or Mall, then the music, food, clothing are dictated by the choice on offer! not many people go out of their way to buy a handmade Aaron jumper, or make sure they have freshly picked Seville oranges in the fruit bowl…when the choice on offer is Mcdonalds or Burger king, it could be said that “the restaurants” that have the monopoly..but individually, no..that would be like saying Brittany Spears has the monopoly on Musical input for teenage girls. Like
Reply
January 08, 2012 at 4:54 pm, guest said:
Record companies don’t pay radio stations to play their music. Radio stations pay for general licensing for music from companies like ASCAP and BMI. Who in turn pay the record companies. Record companies did have a monopoly on what we listen to because recording used to be too expensive for artists to afford. Further artists did not have the means to market themselves because as you’ve mentioned TV and radio are of the bigger forms of mass exposure.
The internet supersedes all of that. Recording technology has advanced to the point where most musicians can afford to record themselves and with the internet, music sharing websites, etc. they can effectively market themselves. (which they do so willingly not as a response to piracy.)
Most musicians make music because they love music and want to express themselves to a larger audience. Record labels love money.
January 08, 2012 at 11:37 pm, guest said:
Google “payola.”
January 09, 2012 at 11:41 am, Radiohead said:
Record companies DO pay radio stations as well as artists. I know first hand. It’s called payola. The monopoly should be a lot easier to recognize due to the amount of music being made today.
January 07, 2012 at 10:17 am, Stella Sally said:
Hi. Happy New Year everyone!
I’m a sweet, friendly, honest and caring girl in search of casual encounters. I’ve been single for over two year, so I got a profile(Angel78) on –Casualloving dot c’0m–. It’s where for men and women looking for intimate encounters.
It’s the first and safe place for people who wanna to start a short-term relationship. Maybe you wanna hit me up, seriously!no bounds or limits in front of true love.
++++++Life is short. Enjoy yourself.
January 08, 2012 at 8:15 pm, Ladylooroll999 said:
why would you spam this!
January 08, 2012 at 7:20 pm, Big Wig In Suit with cigar said:
I CONTROL THE MUSIC INDUSTRY!!!!1
January 09, 2012 at 3:04 am, Theoryz said:
Its the cost that puts me off now… Buying online works out around £7 per vinyl and im sorry but that is taking the p#$$. I used to spend £60 a time and end up with 5 x tracks. I refuse to do it now its a joke. If it worked out £4 per track then i think sales would jump. I dont want to go down the serato route… Its just not the same. Sort it out ffs!
January 09, 2012 at 3:37 am, Chris_yve said:
My friend just met a cutest girl on –CasualLoving dot c’0m–. It’s where for men and women looking for intimate encounters.
It’s a nice place for people who wanna start a short-term relationship….no bounds or extremes in front of true love.
++++++Life is short. Enjoy yourself. {{-_-}}
January 09, 2012 at 4:19 pm, Marcodelany said:
Much better releases on 12″ then digital
))))
January 09, 2012 at 4:57 pm, Alastairgillott said:
WHY PAY WHEN YOU CAN GET IT FREE ON THE NET i HAVE STOPPED BUYING VINYL BECAUSE.
ITS TO EXPENSIVE
IT WAYS A TON WHEN GOING TO GIGS
IT TAKES UP TO MUCH SPACE
AND BASICALLY I WANTED TO MOVE WITH THE TIMES AND EXPAND MY DJ HORIZONS WITH TECHNOLGY
January 20, 2012 at 6:34 pm, Ian O'Dougherty said:
“it’s too expensive”
“weighs a ton”
“too much space”
Though I suspect you are a troll anyway.
To answer your question:
It is important to support art if you want art to continue to exist.
If you made bread (or houses or cars or whatever), and people stopped buying bread, would you continue making bread forever?
January 22, 2012 at 3:01 pm, Paultoghill said:
It is people like YOU who are killing music. You are NOT a real DJ when using illegal downloaded music and use your computer to play it. CHEAT !!
January 09, 2012 at 6:36 pm, Matt said:
Not sure but I doubt the chart is correct, 3.9m sales in 2011 ok that’s great but 0.3 m sales 1993 only? Correct me if I am wrong. Ta
January 09, 2012 at 6:36 pm, Matt said:
Not sure but I doubt the chart is correct, 3.9m sales in 2011 ok that’s great but 0.3 m sales 1993 only? Correct me if I am wrong. Ta
January 10, 2012 at 6:05 am, Bassdroid said:
Yeah, the chart may be true actually, in 1993 CD player boom peaked over the world. It reached second and third world countries that really created a backdrop for vinyl sales. Yet in ’97-2002 period the classic vinyl based dj culture was peaking. Every kid wanted to be a dj. In ’99 some unofficial charts state that in UK there were more turntables sold than guitars. Furthermore during this period the home studio equipment (drummachines, samplers etc.) become pretty affordable, so the number of small labels increased vastly and they were putting out music on vinyl those days thus creating a huge supply for an increasing demand.
January 10, 2012 at 4:40 am, Christian Balistrari said:
There is certainly a satisfaction that goes hand in hand with buying a release on vinyl or CD .. It’s all about scrolling through those quirky band shots in the sleeve or just knowing that you own something that no one can take away (unless stolen..) I used to love routing through the boxes at our local record shop in town and picking up things that just look good and being pleasently surprised when they sounded good!
On the other hand having tracks stored digitally makes things so much easier and manageable.
I guess we are all lucky to have such a wide selection of format to choose from!
January 13, 2012 at 2:15 am, Simoncarvell said:
I prefer vinyl to CD or Download …..vinyl has a better deeper fuller sound , theres something special about putting the needle on the groove .It use to be a buzz to buy vinyl , not just for the music but for some of the amazing artwork on the cover …..bring back Doubles and Gate Fold sleeves and of course the free posters and card board cut outs ….JUST ASK YOURSELF…So which would you prefer to own ……Sgt PEPPER on c.d , download or VINYL ……….i think you know the answer x
January 16, 2012 at 6:30 am, Ben Fourie said:
I’m a vinyl user. I buy music on vinyl because the music I listen to do not use auto tune for artists that cannot sing. It is very unlikely for the music I listen to, to end up on the billboard top 40. It is actually also easier to make. You take some one with a bit of character, but no REAL singing talent, and you give him a label deal. You make some music, but have to spend hours and months in a studio having to make it sound half way decent. Well, trying to any ways. In the end voice synthesizing and auto tune stuff’s up the entire song. But all we care about these days is making sure it hits the charts so that a few albums can get sold. Guess what, we do not want that crap. You made that sh1t, you listen to it! I will stick to my music which is typically recorded in a single session without auto tune and other syntheses going on. You take one of my albums, listen to it, and you can see the sound stage opening up in front of you via your speakers. Something with all these electronic filters etc does not have a sound stage. They make it sound like it, but it is not working.
Long Live Vinyl!!!
January 16, 2012 at 6:31 am, Ben Fourie said:
I’m a vinyl user. I buy music on vinyl because the music I listen to do not use auto tune for artists that cannot sing. It is very unlikely for the music I listen to, to end up on the billboard top 40. It is actually also easier to make. You take some one with a bit of character, but no REAL singing talent, and you give him a label deal. You make some music, but have to spend hours and months in a studio having to make it sound half way decent. Well, trying to any ways. In the end voice synthesizing and auto tune stuff’s up the entire song. But all we care about these days is making sure it hits the charts so that a few albums can get sold. Guess what, we do not want that crap. You made that sh1t, you listen to it! I will stick to my music which is typically recorded in a single session without auto tune and other syntheses going on. You take one of my albums, listen to it, and you can see the sound stage opening up in front of you via your speakers. Something with all these electronic filters etc does not have a sound stage. They make it sound like it, but it is not working.
Long Live Vinyl!!!
January 21, 2012 at 8:42 pm, John Shaka said:
Viva The Underground!! Value for money, support the efforts and the physical artform – besides indeed, no-one can justify beatport prices for digital downloads – maybe their extortionate prices are helping to bring things back to the roots!! Something wicked this way comes!
March 12, 2012 at 12:45 am, Gerardo Rocha Ruiz said:
Resumiendo: las ventas de discos de vinilo -acetato- se han incrementado en un 39% con respecto al 2010. ¡Pero la gráfica nos dice que son las mas altas desde 1993! La diferencia radica en productos de buena calidad, temas adicionales (Bonus tracks) e inclusión de posters gratuitos con el disco.
April 10, 2012 at 3:23 pm, Ever Moises Arias Rodriguez said:
Bonus tracks en un LP?, si. a veces los reeditaban con bonus tracks, yo recuerdo. Fue en la década de los 90's cuando decayo la venta de discos de vinilo y en mi país, Costa Rica, hasta se dejaron de fabricar y hoy en día, solo queda una pequeña oficina de lo que fue CBS Indica, que luego fue Sony Music. ¿Cómo afecta la piratería a la industria del LP actualmente?, me gustaría saber.
April 10, 2012 at 3:14 pm, Ever Moises Arias Rodriguez said:
I do not understand, are growing the sales of vinyl records?
June 05, 2012 at 9:26 pm, Smallz Vr Ramadiro said:
WE CAN TAKE IT HIGHT THIS YEAR.
June 29, 2012 at 1:24 pm, Music Jobs Weekly Round-Up said:
[...] Vinyl Vinyl sales jumped 39 percent in 2011 : (Death & Taxes) [...]
September 11, 2012 at 7:12 am, Vynle sales | Besttwinksmpeg said:
[...] Vinyl sales jumped 39 percent in 2011, music industry not quite …Jan 5, 2012 … Music pirates and Spotify haven’t done the industry in yet. [...]