The vinyl revival, also known as the vinyl resurgence, is the renewed interest and increased sales of vinyl records, or gramophone records, that has been taking place in the music industry. Beginning in 2007, vinyl records experienced renewed popularity in the West and in East Asia.
The analogue format made of polyvinyl chloride had been the main vehicle for the commercial distribution of pop music from the 1950s until the 1980s and 1990s when it was largely replaced by the compact disc (CD). Since the turn of the millennium, CDs have been partially replaced by digital downloads and streaming services. However, in 2007, vinyl sales made a sudden small increase, starting its comeback, and by the early 2010s, it was growing at a very quick rate. In some territories, vinyl is now more popular than it has been since the late 1980s, though vinyl records still make up only a marginal percentage (less than 6%) of overall music sales. In 2022, Taylor Swift's Midnights became the first major album release to have its vinyl sales outpace CDs since 1987, with approximately 600,000 sold in the US and 80,000 sold in the UK at the time of the record occurring. By January 2023, it had moved over a million vinyl LPs in the US – the only 21st-century album to do so.
Along with steadily increasing vinyl sales, the vinyl revival is also evident in the renewed interest in the record shop (as seen by the creation of the annual worldwide Record Store Day), the implementation of music charts dedicated solely to vinyl, and an increased output of films (largely independent) dedicated to the vinyl record and culture.
History
In June 2017, Sony Music announced that by March 2018 it would be producing vinyl records in-house for the first time since ceasing its production in 1989. The BBC reported that "Sony's move comes a few months after it equipped its Tokyo studio with a cutting lathe, used to produce the master discs needed for manufacturing vinyl records", but the company "is even struggling to find older engineers who know how to make records".
In Germany
In Germany a revival of vinyl records already took place in the 1990s in conjunction with the rise of the rave and techno scene. In the mid-1990s, the rave culture had become a mass movement in the country, with raves having tens of thousands of attendees, youth magazines featuring styling tips, and television networks launching music magazines on house and techno music. In this context Der Spiegel in 1998 describes this "renaissance" of the LP format and declares that "LPs are in again". The CD format was regarded as "uncool", while vinyl records could be beatmatched into each other more easily and had more room for album cover art. Record bags were a common fashion accessory at that time. In the early 2000s the mainstream rave movement declined, and by the end of the decade a majority of the so-called "techno record stores" and record store chains that had emerged in the 1990s had disappeared again.
Around 2007 another revival of vinyl began, this time also concerning the collection of other genres such as pop music, and increasingly promoted by the music industry.
In 2016 there were 476 record stores in Germany, and 3.1 million vinyl records were sold. In 2020, sales of vinyl LPs in Germany increased to 4.2 million units sold. Almost three quarters of the 20 most popular records of this year belong to the rock music genre.
In Japan
Sales of music CDs in Japan began in 1982. By 1986, the compact disc began replacing the gramophone record as the primary means of music distribution in Japan. As opposed to declining CD sales in Western markets, CDs remained a huge market in Japan, with sales of over 100 million each year from 1998 until 2018. Beginning in the early 2000s decade, there was growing nostalgia for vinyl records, although CD sales were still strong. Inspired by the Record Store Day event in the United States, Japanese record stores began promoting the revival of gramophone records in 2012. Concurrently, popular musicians including Sakanakushon, AKB48, Perfume, and Masaharu Fukuyama began releasing their music for vinyl distribution. In 2014, HMV Record Shop, a proponent in selling vinyl records, opened in Shibuya. Technology brands such as Sony Electronics and Panasonic released revived models of gramophone record players, starting in 2016.