The vinyl resurgence doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. Sales of vinyl records have increased each year for some time now, and 2014 saw the biggest jump in sales yet. According to The Wall Street Journal, nearly eight million records were purchased this year, a sales jump of 49% over 2013.
The sales jump is, surprisingly, coming from younger music fans, specifically younger indie rock fans. This year’s biggest selling vinyl albums all skewed towards the younger, hipper crowd. Noted vinylphile Jack White topped this year’s vinyl sales chart with his new album Lazzaretto, which sold 75,700 vinyl copies and is now the best-selling vinyl record since Pearl Jam’s 1994 album Vitalogy. Rounding out the top 5 are Arctic Monkey’s AM, The Black Keys’ Turn Blue, Lana Del Rey’s Ultraviolence, and Beck’s Morning Phase.
Unfortunately, there could be some bad times on the horizon for the vinyl industry. Despite the increase in popularity, vinyl records only account for about 2% of record sales, and labels aren’t willing to invest in the record-making business again. As of right now, one company produces 90% of the raw vinyl used to make records, and the 15 record plants that are still active frequently run into problems due to increased demand and outdated equipment.
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