Futuresource Consulting Report: Vinyl Becomes Timeless Format
Alexandre Jornod, an analyst at the British market research company Futuresource Consulting, concluded that “vinyl is gradually becoming an ‘eternal format’, protected from the vagaries of technology and fads”. He substantiated his opinion in the report on the prospects of the market of vinyl records “Vinyl Market Outlook Report”. Moreover, a special place in it was taken by the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was the pandemic that added speed to the growth of the vinyl format market. In the second half of 2020, consumer spending jumped 23% to $1.7 billion. Including consumers have invested in new turntables. So they intend to buy vinyl. As it turned out, it was vinyl to some extent compensated for the lack of live performances in the minds of music lovers.
“More and more artists and labels are now eager to release their music on vinyl as they have witnessed the growing consumer interest in the format. Some of them have developed their own channels for direct communication with consumers”, – said Jornod. “More and more consumers are attracted to vinyl because of what the format offers in terms of a listening experience, and also because of the interaction with the artist, lifestyle and the community that is associated with it”.
Vinyl becomes the carrier not only of archival records, but also of modern ultra-popular releases. Vinyl versions of the latest albums by Ed Sheeran and Adele are projected to drive global consumer spending on vinyl to $2.2 billion in 2021.