Recent statistics from SoundScan in the US show that vinyl sales have grown by around 40% in the first half of this year compared to the first half of 2013. This echoes UK statistics from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) released at the beginning of this year, which showed a 101% increase of vinyl sales in the UK in 2013 compared to 2012. According to music industry manufacturing specialists Key Production, these statistics reveal that vinyl records, far from being a format of the past, offer strong competition against the digital download.

Although vinyl records declined in popularity in the late 1980s and through the 1990s as record companies tended to favour the then-new CD format, they have never gone away, remaining popular as collector?s items and as a niche format throughout the years. However, they have undergone a strong revival in recent years, and now UK vinyl sales have reached their highest in fifteen years.

A spokesperson for Key Production said: "There are plenty of reasons as to why the vinyl record is gaining popularity again, and at such a high growth rate. In part, it may be seen as a backlash against the digital revolution; people still recognise the beauty and artistic value of a physical product, and they want something that they can actually hold, which looks and feels good. The vinyl record obviously provides that in spades, as do the deluxe CD packages that we create.

"Secondly, there has been a strong trend towards the retro in recent years, which many people have associated with the vinyl record and which has brought its appeal to a younger demographic, who didn?t grow up with them originally.

"Finally, of course, music aficionados have always said that the sound quality of a vinyl record simply cannot be replicated in digital formats, so it provides a classic combination of visual, audio and tactile appeal.?

Story filed 31.07.14