“50% of Americans who buy vinyl don’t have a record player, says study”

According NMEa recent study indicates that 50% of American citizens who buy vinyl do not own a record player.

Music Business Worldwide reveals that “50% of consumers who have purchased vinyl records in the last 12 months own a record player, compared to 15% of all music listeners”.

While not a big surprise, the data reveals that vinyl today has a different connotation than its original audio usage. Indeed, physical formats seem to have become more of a collectible or a way to support artists than just a way to listen to music.

This news follows recent reports that, according to figures released by the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) in January, vinyl has overtaken CD in the UK for the first time in 35 years.

Although we did not find any (recent) data for France, it seems from anecdotal reports that the phenomenon experienced by English-speaking countries is not exclusive to them. As an indication, in 2021, more than 5 million vinyls were sold in France, i.e. around three times more than in 2016.