​Physical music has outsold digital downloads in the US for the first time since 2011 - News - Mixmag
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​Physical music has outsold digital downloads in the US for the first time since 2011

2017 was a big year for vinyl

  • Cameron Holbrook
  • 26 March 2018
​Physical music has outsold digital downloads in the US for the first time since 2011

A new report from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) reveals that in 2017, music downloads took 15% of the country’s overall music sales while physical sales came in at 17%.

While streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music hold the majority with 65% of the market - netting a total of 5.7 billion in sales in 2017 - digital download sales dropped by 25% this year as opposed to physical releases which saw only a 4% drop.

The reason for such high-stats being attached to the number of physical sales falls directly on the shoulders of vinyl collectors. While formats such as CD fell by 6% in sales, vinyl sales rose up a solid 10%. In total, vinyl sales in the US netting an overall revenue of $395 million.

While this may come as good news to vinyl enthusiasts of the world, Mixmag asks the question "is the vinyl resurgence actually helping dance music?" Learn more here

Cameron is Mixmag's US Editorial Intern. Follow him on Twitter here

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