The sale of physical music collections are set to see their first increase in 20 years.
This renewed interest in the physical sale of music comes following years of being overlooked by streamed content.
New reports would indicate that this was the case, with the BPI and Official Charts Company noting that physical album sales have spotted a 3.2% increase in the first half of 2024, with 8,044,760 units sold.
This is the first increase in sales from this sector in 2004, when digital music consumption and streaming started to become the order of the day.
Biggest Contributors
According to reports, the biggest contributor to this increase in sales has been Taylor Swift’s album ‘The Tortured Poets Department’, selling 254,241 copies for the first half of 2024.
Two collaborative albums feature in the top 5 for most physical sales including the self titled debut album from Liam Gallagher and John Squire, accruing 46,982 copies, as well as Rod Stewart and Jools Holland’s masterpiece ‘Swing Fever’, with 48,540 copies.
Other albums which feature on this list also include Billie Eilish’s ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft’ which sold 45,434 copies, and The Last Dinner Party’s ‘Prelude To Ecstasy’ which sold 42,352 copies.
In April vinyl sales enjoyed their highest weekly total sales in 30 years thanks to Record Store Day and the release of Swift’s ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ in the same week.
According to the Official Charts Company, these two events saw 269,134 vinyl albums sold, as well as 37,656 vinyl single sales, marking a total of 306,791 units.
Speaking of physical releases, AC/DC confirmed plans to release more limited edition gold-coloured vinyl LPs of their albums to mark their 50th anniversary. More on this story here.
