Vinyl sales in the US have dropped by a third in 2024 according to a new report

A report from Billboard has shown that vinyl record sales in the US have dropped by a third in 2024.

According the figures released by the ‘Weekly National Music Consumption Report’ in 2023, vinyl album sales amassed to 34.9 million, while its latest 2024 figures only saw 23.3 million, revealing a nearly 33.3% decrease.

CD sales also experienced a 19.5% decline in consumption rates from 26.2 million in 2023 to 21 million in 2024. Likewise, digital albums decreased by 8.3%.

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Collectively, this puts physical album sales as a whole dropping by 23.8% across the two-year period, from a total of 75.5 million units sold to 57.5 million.

This is at odds with statistics in the UK where, in 2023, vinyl record sales reached their highest level since 1990, according to the The British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

This marked the 16th consecutive year that vinyl sales had gone up in the UK, with a 11.7% increase from the previous year.

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Meanwhile, more recent statistics from Official Charts Company and BPI (via Music Week) revealed that physical music sales (which includes vinyl, CD and cassette) rose for the first time in two decades in the UK during the first six months of 2024.

Since 2023, physical album sales have gone up by 3.2%, a rate that is expected to continue throughout the rest of the year.

The last time physical album sales experienced an increase in sales was 2004, signalling the negative impact that digital albums and streaming services had on the industry.

Read this next: Just 12.8% of independent artists say they have released music on vinyl, new report claims

With 254,241 physical sales so far this year, Taylor Swift’s ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ LP is among the top five selling physical albums, alongside Rod Stewart & Jools Holland's 'Swing Fever' (48,540), Liam Gallagher & John Squire's self-titled album (46,982), Billie Eilish’s 'Hit Me Hard And Soft' (45,434) and The Last Dinner Party’s 'Prelude To Ecstasy' (42,352).

The increased popularity in vinyl has also prompted a surge in independent record stores, with data from the Entertainment and Retail Association (via BBC) revealing that the UK has 339 more than it did in 2014. Although these statistics do not extend to physical music shops.

Despite this increase of wax record sales, a recent survey from Ditto Music revealed that only 12.8% of artists say they have released music on vinyl.

This discrepancy points to the shortage of pressing plants available for independent labels or artists, with the majority of pressings coming from major labels.

Meena Sears is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow her on Instagram