Sales of vinyl records have dropped by 33.3% this year, as per Billboard’s newest music consumption report.
The report revealed that only 23.3 million vinyl units were sold this year — 11 million units less than the 34.9 million units sold in 2023. Billboard adds, however, that other formats have also experienced a drop in sales; in comparison to their 2023 numbers, CD sales fell by 19.5% and digital albums by 8.3%. Overall, album sales have shrunk from last year’s 75.5 million units to 57.5 million units this year, logging a 23% drop.
The change in pace of vinyl sales come as a surprise as record sales have been significantly increasing over the past decade or so. Vinyl LP sales hit a new 30-year high just three years ago after 2.11 million records were sold in the week ending December 23, 2021.
