Recorded music revenues and shipments dating all the way back to 1973.
Vinyl vs cd sales graph.
Original sound is analog by definition.
This is the definitive source of revenue data for the recorded music industry in the united states.
There is however one bright spot in physical format segment.
The cd audio is digitally encoded and read by a laser while analog vinyl audio is physically read by a needle.
Take a look at the graph below.
Well looking at the final line graph it appears that vinyl revenue is increasing and cd disc revenue is decreasing.
Cds and vinyl records are both audio storage and playback formats based on rotating discs from different times in music history.
Today physical format sales only account for 17 of the industry s revenue.
But can old turntable technology really match the we use cookies to allow us and selected partners to.
In 2017 vinyl sales hit 25 year.
Record sales volume vinyl lps in germany 2003 2019 lp ep shipments in the u s.
Vinyl record sales surpassed cds for the first time in decades by michele debczak january 2 2020 ldprod istock via getty images the 2020s have officially begun but based on the music.
The riaa provides the most comprehensive data on u s.
1998 2019 retail value of lp ep shipments in the u s.
A vinyl record is an analog recording and cds and dvds are digital recordings.
The answer lies in the difference between analog and digital recordings.
Vinyl sales reached their 11th consecutive year of growth in 2018 with 4 2 million vinyl lps sold in the uk.
Vinyl records earned 224 1 million on 8 6 million units in the first half of 2019 closing in on the 247 9 million on 18 6 million units generated by cd sales.
The original question was whether vinyl sales will generate more revenue than cds in 2019 and whether or not that s a big deal.
In fact cd sales are down 80 in the past decade.
