IFPI PUBLISHES GLOBAL VINYL MARKET DETAILS

17 April 2015 - Press release

On the eve of Record Store Day, IFPI, the organisation that represents the recording industry worldwide, has published details of the global vinyl market.  

Vinyl has seen a revival in the past few years, with sales increasing by 54.7 per cent in 2014 alone to US$346.8 million.  The leading market for vinyl sales is the US, where the market was worth US$181.6 million last year, up 52.8 per cent.  The top 10 market with the highest growth was Australia, where vinyl sales climbed 127.0 per cent.

Despite its sales success, vinyl remains a comparatively niche part of the global recording industry, accounting for 2 per cent of its US$14.97 billion revenues in 2014.

 

Top 10 markets – vinyl sales (US$ millions) 2014
Rank	Market	2013	2014	2014 % change
1	USA	118.8	181.6	+52.8%
2	Germany	25.5	34.0	+33.4%
3	UK	19.8	31.7	+60.1%
4	Japan	9.0	16.3	+81.4%
5	Netherlands	9.4	14.1	+50.2%
6	France	8.8	12.2	+39.2%
7	Canada	7.0	9.2	+31.6%
8	Italy	3.5	6.2	+76.5%
9	Australia	2.7	6.0	+127.0%
10	Sweden	2.3	3.7	+59.9%
	Global	224.2	346.8	+54.7%

Source: IFPI, translated to USD at 2014 fixed exchange rates. Ranking based on 2014 vinyl figures.

 

Frances Moore, chief executive of IFPI, says:  “The recording industry is a portfolio business, offering music in formats from vinyl to streaming.  Critics thought vinyl would disappear as a format, but many music fans around the world seem to be falling in love with it again.  With the accompanying artwork and liner notes, vinyl records really can be a work of art and a collector’s delight.”