The trend in the music scene has been very apparent over the last few years in terms of how music is reaching its listeners. Better technologies and more efficient transfer algorithms have allowed listeners to stream their favorite artists even faster. This has lead to an enormous increase in traffic on platforms like Spotify and Soundcloud, rather than purchasing albums or singles. An information and sales tracking system called Nielson SoundScan has just released the numbers for 2014. Some may not shock you at all, while others might throw you back in delight. From 2013 to 2014, streaming services have increased from 101 billion to 164 billion, which marks a 54% increase from 2013. Conversely, album sales have dropped by 11%, and digital albums and singles have dropped by 9% and 12%.
What may actually surprise you is that vinyl sales have increased over that past year. In 2013, there were a total of 6.1 million vinyl album sales and in 2014 those numbers exploded to 9.2 million. That is an increase of 52%. This is the highest increase of vinyl sales in over 25 years.
So what does this all mean? It appears that people are more willing to have the digital streaming services over buying their favorite artist’s albums. At the same time, the market may be looking for the nostalgia of the good old days of vinyl. Does this mark the return of vinyl? We really hope so, but it is too soon to confirm. If the trend is to continue in the next year or two, then maybe we’ll see a lot more DJs working with vinyl.
What do you think this means for the future of music? Let us know in a comment below!
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