Professional services firm Deloitte predicts that LP sales will continue their resurgence in 2017, to register double-digit growth for the seventh consecutive year.
Until a decade ago, the old 12-inch record was widely considered to be in terminal decline, but Deloitte now predicts it will generate between 15% and 18% of annual physical music sales.
In December, the Entertainment Retailers Association reported vinyl outsold digital downloads for the first time this century. This came on top of sales of LPs jumping by more than half in 2015, hitting a 25-year high of 3.2million.
Nostalgia for tangibility and the authenticity of vinyl, as well as the popularity of events such as Record Store Day which celebrates the individuality of independent record sellers, has fuelled the explosive growth, reports the UK’s Independent newspaper.
However, in its report released this week, Deloitte says the resurgence might begin to taper.
Vinyl sales in the US dropped 6% in the first half of last year and the number of people willing to spend an average of $20 on a record might be nearing its limit.
Paul Lee, Deloitte’s head of technology, media and telecoms research, said that despite the ubiquity of music streaming services, “consumers are choosing to buy something tangible and nostalgic and at a price point that provides record companies with significant revenues”.
Lee fell short of hailing a full-scale resurgence of vinyl as a leading music format, though, saying it was unlikely to be the major source of growth for the music industry.
“Music’s future, both from a revenue and consumption perspective, is all about digital, and this is where the brunt of the industry’s focus should be. “
