Vinyl: Still king in Canada so far in 2024
When the Luminate sales and streaming data comes out every week, the first numbers I look at are for vinyl. Despite unconscionably high prices, sales are going nuts so far in 2024.
Comparing sales to the same period last year, vinyl is up 34.2% with 202,536 units (new only, not used) sold so far in 2023. Compare that to sales of CDs which are down 18.7%. That translates in 200,481 units. So yes, vinyl is outselling and out-grossing compact discs in 2024.
That being said, CDs did well last week, up 5% and moving 27,040 unit. Vinyl was also up (5.4%) but only sold 24,753, allowing CDs to close the year-to-date gap.
The next thing I look at is the number of streams. So far in 2024, Canadians are listening to 11.1% more streams. Last week alone, we streamed songs 2.824 times, which is about the same as last week.
I’m curious as to what the sales of digital music are (HD audio, flac, etc) from sites like Bandcamp, Boomkat, HD Tracks and others. While I doubt sales approach cds or vinyl, I find myself purchasing more digital music in the past few years. There is a lot of great music that just doesn’t make it through normal distribution channels anymore.
I suppose when you compare the price of vinyl albums in 2024 to 1985 the price seems exorbitant, even after allowing for inflation. That said the quality of the vinyl is much better, as is the listening experience. I think the improvement is worth the price. Spinning vinyl brings me even more joy than ever. Cheers.