Taylor Swift is arguably the most popular recording artist in the world at the moment, and now she’s being credited with an unexpected industry trend: an uptick in vinyl record sales.
While streaming downloads have dominating the industry for years, many music fans are returning to this retro format instead. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), revenue from vinyl records grew 1% this year to $632 million and accounted for 72% of physical format revenues.
Those sales figures are even more dramatic across the pond. CNN reported that vinyl sales jumped a whopping 11.7% this year in the U.K., with a total of 5.9 million units sold. This represents a four-fold increase in sales from 2022.
This is the 16th consecutive year that vinyl sales increased. The holiday shopping season helped drive these huge numbers, with 250,000 purchases happening last week alone, per the outlet.
Swift’s influence is a driving factor for these numbers as her “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” album sold the most vinyl copies this year. Other musicians who moved a lot of this retro format include The Rolling Stones’ “Hackney Diamonds,” Lana Del Rey’s “Did You Know Know There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd” and another Swift album, “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).”
CDs and cassette tape sales also increased in recent years. Streaming accounted for 84% of all music sales, the outlet noted, but physical musical sales this year reached their highest levels since 2013. Subscription services were named as the “strongest driver” of revenue growth, per RIAA.
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Fans are becoming increasingly frustrated with rising costs associated with streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music. Earlier this month, Spotify announced they would be undergoing their third round of layoffs this year, with plans to reduce their workforce by 17%. This news came just days after the company’s chief financial officer announced his resignation.
As for Swift, it’s been a banner year all around. She was named Time’s Person of the Year following the massive success of her “Eras” worldwide tour, which made her a billionaire. The singer has also been making headlines thanks to her blossoming romance with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
