Music

Vinyl sales increased 2,000 percent on Record Store Day

by Mark Teo

In the last few weeks, Record Store Day has received a lot of heat—perhaps deservedly so. The event has been panned for numerous reasons: Some argue that it’s an excuse for record companies to roll out “exclusives” that no one ever asked for.Others argue that it’s a marketing-based ploy to cash in on the cool cachet—or perhaps bubble—of vinyl. Others, like Toronto stalwart music shop Vortex Records, have pulled out of the event entirely.

Still, the facts remain: RSD moves a tonof vinyl, and last Saturday, it posted their best-ever sales day.

Week over week, its impact was astonishing. The biggest winners were independent record stores, which saw a 2,042% increase in vinyl sales, as compared to the previous week. And indie boutiques sold almost purely records in that period: In total, records accounted for three of every four purchases. We imagine that, during RSD, people were gobbling up LPs and 7-inches, not CDs, cassettes, or band merch.

In total, sales increased by nearly 700 per cent at independent record stores. Overall, both independent and major retailers saw a 1,855 per cent increases in vinyl purchases. That’s a whole lot of Jay Z and Linkin Park reissues.

The most successful records? Two live records—by Tame Impala and the Grateful Dead—were the best-selling LPs. Check the top 10 below.

Meanwhile, Nirvana’s “Pennyroyal Tea” topped the singles chart.

What these sales signify, though, is harder to pin down. Are they an indicator that vinyl’s back—and that sales will continue to rise? Or is this a bubble artificially inflated by nostalgia-driven reissue hunters?