Music streaming services are raising vinyl sales

A new ICM poll has indicated that music streaming sites are contributing to the vinyl resurgence, the BBC reports.

The survey indicates that half of consumers stream an album online before purchasing it as a physical record, with ad-funded sites such as SoundCloud and YouTube driving the most sales.

Regarding the drive in wax sales, student Duncan Willis said: "It's so easy to listen to music now on YouTube or Spotify, I think we're yearning for the times of our parents where you had to go out of your way to buy a song."

Record sales are continuing to rise in 2016 with the Official Charts Company revealing 637,056 were sold in the first three months of the year.

On the surface the boost in vinyl sold seems positive, but there are concerns about the motives of certain buyers. 48 per cent of people who bought a record last month admitted they have yet to play it., and seven per cent revealed they do not even own a turntable.

Manchester-based student Jordan Katende told BBC news: "I have vinyls in my room but it's more for decor. I don't actually play them. It gives me the old-school vibe. That's what vinyl's all about."

These types of sale are inflating the market and raising the price for the 52 per cent majority of consumers who actually spin their records.

The inauguration of Record Store Day nine years ago has been cited as an influential factor in the resurgencec of vinyl. Its 2016 edition takes place this weekend on April 16 and will see the sale of thousands of one-off records spanning artists from Justin Bieber to Dusky.

However, figures from ICM Unlimited research show that the majority of music (73 per cent) is purchased online.

Amazon has the biggest market share of 27 per cent, followed by iTunes on 18 per cent and supermarkets on 10 per cent. High street record stores trail at 7 per cent.

The head of ICM Unlimited Andrew Wiseman said: "It is still the case that less than 1 in 10 people are buying vinyl, and we shouldn't forget that it's still a relatively small part of the market."

Maybe this will change with the introduction of HD vinyl?

Check out favourite vinyl only labels here.

[Via: BBC]

Patrick Hinton is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow him on Twitter