The Quietus - A new rock music and pop culture website

News

UK Vinyl Sales At 25-Year High
Christian Eede , January 3rd, 2017 11:36

David Bowie's last album was last year's most popular vinyl in the UK

Sales of vinyl released by labels reporting to the BPI were at a 25-year high in 2016, according to new figures.

More than 3.2 million records were sold in the UK last year, the BPI reports, which suggests a 53% rise on 2015. The most popular record was David Bowie's Blackstar which sold more than double the copies of 2015's biggest seller, Adele's 25.

As the BBC reports, the last time the figures were in such good health was in 1991 when Simply Red's Stars topped the figures. Vinyl still only accounts for 2.6% of the overall music market in the UK though, with CD and download sales also continuing to drop rapidly as vinyl experiences its resurgence.

CD sales dropped by 11.7% in 2016 while download sales dropped by 29.6% in the same 12-month period. The fall is thought to align with the increasing popularity of streaming services.