7th September 2022: Year-to-date sales figures show that for the first time vinyl LPs have overtaken all physical entertainment formats bar Nintendo Switch games, according to analysis by ERA, the digital entertainment and retailers association.
It means that so far this year UK consumers have spent more money on vinyl than on Playstation 4 and 5 games combined, as well as more than on CDs, DVDs or Blu-ray discs.
UK'S BEST-SELLING PHYSICAL ENTERTAINMENT FORMATS |
||||
|
Format |
2021 YTD |
2022 YTD |
% change |
1 |
Nintendo Switch |
£101,338,187 |
£88,650,439 |
-12.5 |
2 |
Vinyl albums |
£72,107,077 |
£80,934,220 |
12.2 |
3 |
Playstation (4 + 5) |
£74,730,331 |
£79,582,333 |
6.5 |
4 |
CD albums |
£74,920,404 |
£68,851,246 |
-8.1 |
5 |
DVD |
£83,396,449 |
£66,823,596 |
-19.9 |
6 |
Blu-ray |
£47,414,578 |
£52,148,024 |
10.0 |
7 |
Xbox (Series + One) |
£20,759,828 |
£17,784,159 |
-14.3 |
8 |
PC |
£837,039 |
£579,986 |
-30.7 |
Source: Official Charts Company/GfK. Weeks 1-35 2022 versus 2021 |
The £80.9m spent on vinyl LPs so far this year is 12.2% up on the same period of 2021, and is nearly 20% ahead of expenditure on compact discs. Vinyl sales overtook CD sales for the first time just last year.
ERA CEO Kim Bayley said, ”Vinyl’s rise and rise seems unstoppable. For a 74 year old analogue format to eclipse the digital-age technology of games platforms is quite extraordinary. Ten years into its long climb back to favour, the vinyl revival is most definitely here to stay.”
The news comes as ERA prepares for its annual conference, set to take place at the Everyman Cinema, Handyside Street, London N1, on Tuesday September 13.
Speakers include representatives from Meta, Spotify, Super Awesome, Epic Games and NFT specialist Serenade, entertainment data compiler Luminate and a series of presentations on the video industry in association with video industry trade body BASE.
Kim Bayley said, “The ERA Conference really is one of the highlights of our year. Nowhere else in the world is it possible to hear such a wide range of senior voices from right across the entertainment industry, bringing together digital entertainment and retail professionals with suppliers from right across the music, video and games sectors.”