The gramophone record makes a comeback in the marketplace.
Video killed the radio star, but vinyls just might be here to stay.
Vinyl sales reached six million
last year, up 32 percent from 4.2 million in 2012. The increase bumped
wax records out of the 14-year slump suffered between 1993 and 2007.
The rise proves that physical records have weathered the
storm brought on by CDs, and now digital streaming options, but there is
no definitive answer for its popularity.
Listening to vinyls essentially boils down to personal preference of sound clarity, and recording artists like Beyoncé are playing on the fondness for wax. Queen Bey is reportedly releasing a limited edition vinyl version of her self-titled fifth studio album on Feb. 28.
Meanwhile, album sales as a whole dropped last year. According to Billboard,
digital sales fell nearly 6 percent from 1.34 to 1.26 billion units for
the first time since Apple launched iTunes in 2003.
Additionally, CDs
dipped 14.5 percent to 165.4 million units down from over 190 million
the year before.
