Baby Boomers Rejoice! Vinyl and CD Sales Are Stronger Than Ever!
My almost-57 year old self was pleasantly surprised to see data on the latest trends in music sales…it turns out the sale of Vinyl Record Albums and Compact Discs are up, while digital downloads are trending down. According to the RIAA’s year-end report, Vinyl officially became a billion-dollar industry in 2021, topping $1.037 billion in revenues. CDs also had a strong year, up $100 million from 2020. And guess what didn’t do as well…Digital Downloads. This modern form of music collection and enjoyment sank by almost $80 million. However, it’s important to note that streaming apps, like The Spotify app on my own Smartphone, generated nearly $12 billion last year, meaning the act of streaming your favorite tunes isn’t going anywhere. That’s fine for y’all, streamer nation, but now it’s going to be easy for us gray-beards to go buy an actual ALBUM of our favorite tunes, by both classic and modern artists. I look forward to having the following conversation with my 20-something children: “Hey, do you guys wanna hear that new song by [fill in the blank with popular new artist/band name]? Cool…why don’t we all grab some chairs, and meet in my office around the turntable I bought in college and listen while we take turns staring at the album cover?”
John Young
