Vinyl Record Industry to Millennials: “Thank You!”
Yes, sales growth has slowed over the last year, but in the tenth year of its resurrection, vinyl continues to do well, certainly for a format that was declared dead and buried several times.
Older white dudes tend to make up the bulk of the vinyl market, but we wouldn’t be here today if Millennials hadn’t bought into the whole thing. Fortune takes a look at how under-35s are driving vinyl forward.
[V]inyl is back, to the tune of a projected $1 billion in sales this year, and it’s largely because of millennials. Nearly 50% of gramophone customers are 35 or younger.
Vinyl Me, Please launched on the back of this resurgence. Founded in 2013 by Matt Fiedler and Tyler Barstow (themselves earnest millennials), the vinyl-subscription service sends users an exclusive LP, original album art, and a cocktail recipe designed to match the album for $29 a month.
So why vinyl, and why now? It’s not about nostalgia—most of Vinyl Me, Please’s customers didn’t grow up with LPs. Instead, Fielder attributes it to his generation’s willingness to “exchange the idea of convenience for an experience.”
In addition, for customers in their 20s and 30s, some of whom grew up streaming music, “the idea of owning is really interesting.”
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