by Abbie Moore
In recent years vinyl sales have increased exponentially. Since 2016 the number has jumped from 13.1 million to 49.6 million in 2023, which is a growth of 300 percent in just seven years. According to a report by the Recording Industry Association of America revenue from vinyl sales totalled to over 1 billion dollars in 2015 for the first time.
Why the growth?
But why is this? With the introduction of CDs, vinyl sales slowed but now in 2026 they are doing better than ever. One suggestion is that in an era where almost everything is digital and online, music fans enjoy owning something physical rather than a file on their phone.
Another big aspect is that of collecting. It is becoming more and more common amongst music fans to have your own vinyl collection, and some super fans will even go the extra mile and collect multiple different versions of their favourite artists latest album. Taylor Swift’s latest album The Life of a Showgirl has a staggering 30 versions for fans to collect, each offering something different, perhaps an exclusive song or a brand new picture on the cover. This album alone was responsible for 1.6 million vinyl sales in 2025.
Indie record stores
Independent record stores have made a great impact on the number of physical records sold according to luminate data. A study revealed that indie record stores account for 40 percent of all vinyl sales, I spoke to Ronnie, who owns Up North Records in Chester to find out if his store has been feeling the impact of the vinyl revival.
“Definitely, most months have been better, in the past year we have only had about 2 months where we’ve done worse than last year and that’s only by a couple of percent, but with the months we’re doing better it’ll be by up to 15%, so were really quite happy with that”.
The growth in record sales is not only present in independent stores, but also in chain music stores such as HMV and you can even find other Highstreet stores such as Waterstones, Urban Outfitters and WHSmith have all added vinyl records to their shelves in an attempt to cash in on the vinyl trend.
While not an independent record store, HMV is the main music retailer on the highstreets and you can find one in many UK cities, including Chester, so I popped in to see if their staff had noticed the growth in vinyl sales.
“Vinyl has definitely been increasing in sale, but it’s less of a surprise and more something that’s been building over a long time, whilst CD sales are going down vinyl sales are going up, so people are moving towards buying quality over convenience”, said a HMV staff member.
With endless vinyl variants being released and fans collecting to their hearts content, it’s no surprise both independent and high street stores feeling the growth, so I think its certain to say the trend won’t be dying down anytime soon.
Click above to hear Abbie Moore discuss the vinyl revival with fellow UoC music journalist Alex McFerren
