Vinyl LP sales surge

An old-fashioned music medium, the vinyl LP is making a comeback year after year. Maybe LP sales statistics don't add up to a tsunami (yet), but they do indicate strong, ongoing consumer interest in vinyl. According to the Official Charts Co, 800,000 vinyl LPs have been sold to date this year, and 2014 is on track for 1 million LP purchases in the UK by yearend. (The Official Charts FB page is here.)


Record Store Day, held every May, attracts vinyl lovers to music stores around the country with special releases and promotions. The 2014 event broke recent sales records and contributed to vinyl's momentum.

Vinyl is in the spotlight at Rough Trade, a music retailer based in London with two stores there, opened a branch store in the hip New York neighborhood of Williamsburg last year. Rough Trade will soon open a fourth store in Nottingham. The focus is on indie music--and vinyl is a key product element.

With 134,000 Twitter followers, Rough Trade actively promotes community and encourages exploration of new performers and new music. Vinyl gives customers a reason to visit the store, pick up LPs, read the album notes, and buy something new with a vintage heritage.