Are sales of physical records going up or down? Conflicting data, spooky coincidences, and the importance of questioning sensationalist headlines (including this one)
That 33% decrease sounds very clickbaitey to me. So many outlets looking to sensationalize things to attract eyeballs. I was interested to see that CDs were still outselling vinyl in the UK. I think that if and when I decide to get back into physical media there will be a place for both those formats on my collection.
Thank you, Mark! Indeed: Luminate/Billboard have very recently clarified that the “decline” should be taken with a pinch of salt because of the change in methodology.
I collect both vinyl and CD as I still like the compact disc, and some records are only available in that format. Of crucial importance is getting an amp that allows you to switch easily from one format to the other — you’ve given me a great idea for a future post! Thanks again!
Andres, listening to your voice over always makes me smile and usually laugh. This one was off the charts with the Star Spangled Banner and God Save the King singing added for unlimited sass! I have to say, you are the only person I would listen to reading RIAA statistics. If you weren't so charming, I'd use this bit as a cure for my insomnia. You make excellent arguments, but all the numbers and stats make me sleepy. My main takeaway: people be talking out their asses! (and by people I mean record industry PR personnel).
Thank you so much, Steve. This means the world to me because I put so much love and effort into the voiceovers. Compiling all those figures was tedious but I thought it’d be good to have them all in one place. Glad you enjoyed the anthems! 😂😂 I wanted to do these little interludes between monotonous sections so readers and writer alike don’t fall asleep on the keyboard 😅 Thanks again for tuning in and for your kind words. I can’t thank you enough ♥️
I can't comment on new vinyl sales, but I do think the used record market has cooled since it hit a peak during the pandemic. I have also read many people are selling off collections (those who bought a lot of records during the pandemic but were never in it for the long haul).
Thank you, Michael. What you say makes sense as the average consumer in the second-hand sector tends to be more price sensitive. There’s also an element of changing priorities and/or moving on to other projects after the vinyl craze of the very early 2020s.
Someone over at Luminate (former Nielsen) must have been smoking something he/she shouldn't have. First they reported the 33,3 % drop to correct it a day later to a 6 % rise. To "refrase" the sentence of the famous 80's series SOAP "Confused, you will be after this episode" 😂. Apparently it had to do with the way the 1500 index rec stores are counted (or not).
We used to pass the time like that in our record store in Houston, late-’70s…fashioning a mask of sorts with album head-shots of our faves! Wouldn’t surprise me to remember pitching some to kiddos as potential masks around Halloween time!😁
And just to add, you’ve given me a great idea for a future post: vinyl faces! So many album covers with just a headshot… some iconic, some less well-known.
I also seem to recall albums which had a die-cut mask (with eye-holes) that you could punch out, and into little holes on the sides you'd tie a string and knot it to slip it over your head as a mask. For just covers like an "Aladdin Sane," you'd have to literally destroy the jacket to effectively make a mask out of THOSE! But, hey, if you can find a "spare"!
Here's one from the '70s....the band Mandrill from Brooklyn, and their 1971 debut album: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandrill_(album) Perfectly good for simply holding up to your face, and scaring little kiddies and grannies!
That 33% decrease sounds very clickbaitey to me. So many outlets looking to sensationalize things to attract eyeballs. I was interested to see that CDs were still outselling vinyl in the UK. I think that if and when I decide to get back into physical media there will be a place for both those formats on my collection.
Thank you, Mark! Indeed: Luminate/Billboard have very recently clarified that the “decline” should be taken with a pinch of salt because of the change in methodology.
I collect both vinyl and CD as I still like the compact disc, and some records are only available in that format. Of crucial importance is getting an amp that allows you to switch easily from one format to the other — you’ve given me a great idea for a future post! Thanks again!
Andres, listening to your voice over always makes me smile and usually laugh. This one was off the charts with the Star Spangled Banner and God Save the King singing added for unlimited sass! I have to say, you are the only person I would listen to reading RIAA statistics. If you weren't so charming, I'd use this bit as a cure for my insomnia. You make excellent arguments, but all the numbers and stats make me sleepy. My main takeaway: people be talking out their asses! (and by people I mean record industry PR personnel).
Thank you so much, Steve. This means the world to me because I put so much love and effort into the voiceovers. Compiling all those figures was tedious but I thought it’d be good to have them all in one place. Glad you enjoyed the anthems! 😂😂 I wanted to do these little interludes between monotonous sections so readers and writer alike don’t fall asleep on the keyboard 😅 Thanks again for tuning in and for your kind words. I can’t thank you enough ♥️
I can't comment on new vinyl sales, but I do think the used record market has cooled since it hit a peak during the pandemic. I have also read many people are selling off collections (those who bought a lot of records during the pandemic but were never in it for the long haul).
Thank you, Michael. What you say makes sense as the average consumer in the second-hand sector tends to be more price sensitive. There’s also an element of changing priorities and/or moving on to other projects after the vinyl craze of the very early 2020s.
And from what I've read, some independent stores are so upset, they no longer want to be counted. I have the feeling this story is not over yet ! 😁
That’s interesting. The irony, eh!
Someone over at Luminate (former Nielsen) must have been smoking something he/she shouldn't have. First they reported the 33,3 % drop to correct it a day later to a 6 % rise. To "refrase" the sentence of the famous 80's series SOAP "Confused, you will be after this episode" 😂. Apparently it had to do with the way the 1500 index rec stores are counted (or not).
Smoking for sure! At least, what they initially presented was smoke & mirrors! 😂
Nada que ver, pero physical de Olivia Newton-John estaba en el #1 cuando yo nací
We used to pass the time like that in our record store in Houston, late-’70s…fashioning a mask of sorts with album head-shots of our faves! Wouldn’t surprise me to remember pitching some to kiddos as potential masks around Halloween time!😁
And just to add, you’ve given me a great idea for a future post: vinyl faces! So many album covers with just a headshot… some iconic, some less well-known.
I also seem to recall albums which had a die-cut mask (with eye-holes) that you could punch out, and into little holes on the sides you'd tie a string and knot it to slip it over your head as a mask. For just covers like an "Aladdin Sane," you'd have to literally destroy the jacket to effectively make a mask out of THOSE! But, hey, if you can find a "spare"!
Here's one from the '70s....the band Mandrill from Brooklyn, and their 1971 debut album: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandrill_(album) Perfectly good for simply holding up to your face, and scaring little kiddies and grannies!
Halloween costume sorted!
This is so cool!