Tuesday 15 May 2018: A hardcore of “superfans” prepared to spend £400 or more on their favourite format are driving sales of entertainment, according to new data from the Entertainment Retailers Association.
More than two thirds of sales of vinyl LPs and Blu-ray discs are accounted for by such superfans.
ERA CEO Kim Bayley said, “Music, video and games may reach virtually the entire population, but it is these £400-a-year Superfans who are the backbone of the market.”
The new data emerges from ERA’s quarterly tracking study which measures the entertainment consumption behaviour of more than 2,200 UK adults. Participants were asked how much they spend on different entertainment formats with the highest category indicating spending of £400 or more a year.
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HOW SUPERFANS DRIVE THE ENTERTAINMENT MARKET |
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Total sales value |
Number of Superfans |
Superfan expenditure |
Superfan percentage of market |
|
Vinyl LP |
£87.7m |
157,000 |
£62.9m |
72% |
|
Blu-ray |
£161.6m |
247,000 |
£98.8m |
61% |
|
Console games |
£749.7m |
629,000 |
£251.6m |
34% |
|
CD |
£368.5m |
292,000 |
£116.7m |
32% |
|
DVD |
£580.5m |
157,000 |
£62.9m |
11% |
|
Source: Entertainment Retailers Association Tracking Study. |
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The study indicates that booming sales of vinyl LPs are being driven by a hardcore of around 157,000 superfans – equivalent to the population of Chelmsford, Essex – who last year generated sales of £62.9m, or 71.7% of the vinyl LP market.
In Blu-ray 247,000 superfans – equivalent to the population of Southampton - accounted for 61.1% of the total market, £98.7m of the total £161.6m Blu-ray market.
Superfans accounted for around one-third of the CD and console games markets, but just 10.8% of the DVD market.
Said Bayley, “Superfans are the connoisseurs of entertainment. They are passionate about music or film or games and tend to favour the more sophisticated higher-value formats.”
What does £400 buy you?
Combining the latest tracking study data with information on average selling prices from the Official Charts Company (video, music) and GfK (console games) shows the scale of the commitment of superfans to their favourite formats.
In 2017 console games sold for an average of £33.97 each, meaning a superfan spending £400 could afford 11.7 games a year, or just under one per month.
In contrast a CD superfan would need to find a lot more shelf-space for their purchases. In 2017 CD albums sold for an average of £8.27 each, meaning a superfan spending £400 could afford 48.4 CDs a year, or nearly one a week.
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Average selling |
How many you can buy for £400 |
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CD |
£8.27 |
48.4 |
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DVD |
£7.00 |
57.1 |
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Blu-ray |
£12.33 |
32.4 |
|
Vinyl LP |
£20.31 |
19.7 |
|
Console games |
£33.97 |
11.7 |
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Source: Entertainment Retailers Association |
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ENDS
For more information please contact Steve Redmond steve@eraltd.org (07770 924720)
About ERA
ERA is the trade association representing the vast majority of retailers and digital services offering music, video and games. Its members range from independent record shops (Reflex, Sister Ray) to digital services (Spotify, Google, Sky, Deezer, 7digital) to internet retailers (Amazon) to specialist High Street operators (HMV, Game) and supermarkets (Tesco, Sainsburys, Asda, Morrisons)
ERA members supply the sales data which powers the Official Charts Company (music and video charts) and GfK Chart-Track (videogames). Together with record companies trade association the BPI, it owns the Official Charts Company.
ERA provides the organisational force behind Record Store Day, the annual celebration of independent record stores which has become the most successful new music industry promotion of the past two decades.
ERA works closely with its sister organisations in music, video and games and is a strong proponent of open markets, open standards and consumer choice.