Vinyl overtakes PlayStation games as UK’s second biggest selling physical format

The vinyl revival has had a huge impact on the music industry, but with demand skyrocketing, backlogs are becoming an issue.

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Vinyl records

Image: Robert Alexander / Getty

Vinyl has overtaken PlayStation games as the second biggest selling physical format of entertainment in the UK, new data reveals.

The vinyl revival has had an immense impact on the music industry and appears to be one of the best ways artists can make an income from sales of their music. Having also overtaken CDs and DVDs, consumers evidently still enjoy the physical intimacy of seeing a turntable spin and flipping from side A to side B.

Data from the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) reveals that vinyl records have brought in £80.9 million so far this year, with Nintendo Switch games landing the top spot reaching over £88 million so far in 2022.

The figure for vinyl has increased from £72.1 million at this time last year, and in the same time frame, Playstation 4 and 5 games sales have increased, but only to £79.6 million from £74.7 million in 2021. However, despite them earning the top spot, Nintendo Switch games sales are down 12.5 per cent year-on-year while vinyl sales are up 12.2 per cent.

ERA CEO Kim Bayley said in a statement, “Vinyl’s rise and rise seems unstoppable. For a 74 year old analogue format to eclipse the digital-age technology of games platforms is quite extraordinary. Ten years into its long climb back to favour, the vinyl revival is most definitely here to stay.”

The demand for vinyl records has been so colossal that shortages of material has led to delays in albums being shipped out to consumers. The backlogs have led to artists speaking out on the matter such as Jack White who has encouraged labels to build their own pressing plants.

It was announced in June that a new pressing plant would open next year in California to assist with the huge demands for good old-fashioned records.

Read the full report from the ERA.

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