Vinyl record sales last peaked during the Reagan Decade; in 2020, they returned to that same level as many people looked for new hobbies during the pandemic. Credit: Courtesy of Records Per Minute
Vinyl record sales last peaked during the Reagan decade; 40 years on, vinyl is making a comeback.
In 2020, vinyl record sales passed CD sales in the United States for the first time since the 1980s, according to a report from the Recording Industry Association of America. Vinyl sales were up 3.6 percent while CD sales were down 47.6 percent. Owners of local record stores said the trends have been apparent, and they point to the coronavirus pandemic as the primary reason.
Jesse Merideth, owner of The Hippie Hut Guitars & Things, said he has noticed skyrocketing sales.
“I imagine people have a lot of time to kill,” Merideth said. “People are getting stimulus checks with some extra money to spend on things.”
Jack Sterver, owner of Records Per Minute, a popular record store in Columbus, said he thinks the increase is due to the pandemic-inspired phenomenon of picking up new hobbies.
“People are picking up vinyl collections as a new hobby,” Sterver said. “I think it’s people trying to stay home, and it gives them a way to step away from the TV and go back to how things used to be.”
According to MRC Data and Billboard’s year-end report, Black Friday 2020 sold nearly 1.3 million albums and set a new record for the largest sales week for vinyl sales since MRC Data began tracking the format in 1991. Three weeks later, this record was beaten by holiday shopping which saw more than 1.8 million albums sold.
Both store owners said they have seen an increase in the number of vinyl records bought, especially online. Although Merideth said there has been a wide range of customers and types of records bought, he said the younger audience has made their presence known.
“Most typical buyers, as you can imagine, are college kids,” Merideth said. “We have people that remember where we used to be with records, but for age groups, we primarily get 18 to 21 in here.”
The top vinyl albums of 2020 were Harry Styles’ “Fine Line” with 232,000 sales and Billie Eilish’s “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” with 196,000 sales, according to MRC Data and Billboard’s year-end report.
Caroline Geraghty, a first-year in marketing, said she has been collecting vinyls for a while now, but sees why cultural influences from the 80s have led to such a sudden jump in sales.
“I think they’ve gotten popular because the time period has gained popularity, and a lot of the popular culture from that time has come back around,” Geraghty said.
Not only have people been trying to emulate aspects of the decade, but Geraghty said collecting vinyls is a new way to appreciate and experience music.
“I think people have been into vinyl during COVID because it’s just something new to spice up their day,” Geraghty said. “They’re fun to collect, especially for those albums you like the majority of the songs. That’s mainly why I have vinyl.”
