While physical music sales may be losing the battle to streaming, vinyl sales continue to reach new highs. As reported by Billboard, the week of Black Friday saw the U.S. break its all-time record for weekly vinyl sales.
1.253 million vinyl were sold during the week of Black Friday. This number is up from 2019’s best week, which topped off at 1.243 million. While it was by no means a drastic increase, considering the economic situation brought on by the pandemic, any increase is an impressive feat.
It’s worth noting that the data comes from Nielsen Music and MRC Data which began digitally monitoring sales in 1991, so comparisons to the decades prior could prove challenging. Analysts have also stated that the record week was likely due to this year’s Record Store Day taking place on the massive after-Thanksgiving shopping day.
The U.S. is not the only country seeing increases in vinyl sales. As reported last month, sales figures in the U.K. showed that vinyl was on track to break a 30-year sales record. This adds up to a 10% increase from 2019 and is expected to total over £100 million. A September report also showed a 4-5% increase in the music industry overall in both Germany and Spain in the first half of 2020.
