Sales of vinyl continues to increase…

I dug out my mid 1980’s Kenwood turntable earlier this year and started buying vinyl albums once again…after selling off a BIG collection back around 2008 or so, when the economy was tanking (a move that I do regret!). My collection now stands at a mere 47 vinyl albums, and in some cases I’ve bought the original album as well as the new 180 gram version. Only 47 albums in 9 months time…hey, this gets a big spendy (as perhaps you know)! I’ll admit, I love the “original” sound, but the new 180 gram stuff is really nice…and much more spendy. I don’t buy any originals that aren’t at least “near mint”, at least for the actual vinyl…but depending on the album, it’s about half the cost of a 180 gram version. And sales of vinyl records continues to grow, while CD sales are in a nosedive. The latest report from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), shows vinyl revenue grew by 12.8% in the second half of 2018 and 12.9% in the first six months of 2019, while the revenue from CDs barely budged. If these trends hold, records will soon be generating more money than compact discs. And I’m not surprised at all by this..the vinyl resurgence has been great for some artists, especially classic rock groups! The Beatles sold over 300,000 records in 2018, while Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, and Queen all sold over 100,000. No, the numbers aren’t NEARLY what they were in the hay-day of vinyl singles and or albums, but it sure is nice to see vinyl making the comeback! And no, it’s nowhere near the numbers when it comes to digital downloads and streaming…but as long as they keep pressing, I’ll keep buying! Here are pictures of my most recent “finds”, and two (one not pictured) were simply given to me by a good friend (thank you again Dave Arthur!), Van Halen “Diver Down” and Huey Lewis “Sports”, BOTH brand new, never even opened! And the Heart Lps…I kinda when crazy after returning from the recent concert, and bought three. And then I felt a little guilty about my favorite band U2, so I snagged the “How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb” Lp on red vinyl! Click on each thumbnail for a bigger version.  ~ Ron

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