Top iPad Music Apps (a/o May 23rd):
(
Could vinyl sales actually be multiples larger? We've been quoting some heady gains from Nielsen Soundscan, but what if those figures are woefully undercounted? "Soundscan only gets about 15 percent," Vince Slusarz of Gotta Groove Records just told the New York Times. "The majority of the stuff we press, it doesn't even have a bar code."
Wow: a 15 percent rate would imply that vinyl sales are actually
7 times larger than we think. Sounds a bit extreme, and Slusarz could be wildly overcounting for obvious reasons. Then again, vinyl is oftentimes sold in non-traditional outlets like indie retailers, merch tables, and small websites. And, let's not even get started on used vinyl, which makes the whole thing even more authentic.
But what are the Soundscan numbers, anyway? Try 2.8 million LPs in the US last year, a figure growing about 40 percent this year. Whether or not that's closer to 18.7 million is an interesting question, though the bigger concern is whether this is all a fad.
But if vinyl (and other physical formats) are here to stay, we may be witnessing an interesting consumer preference for something tangible. One reader calls it 'the vinyl effect,' which may simply be a reaction to an avalanche of digital intangibility.
Comments Closed
Erik P Monday, October 24, 2011
Only time will tell if vinyl is a fad or not, but I agree with the so-called "vinyl effect". There's a void for music fans and I believe tangible releases will fill that. Vinyl is by far the most fun! Several artists have also told me that vinyl is one of the most sought after items at the merch table.
stuff Tuesday, October 25, 2011
not sure you can draw any conclusion without a breakdown telling you who buy what vynils... DJs? probably not ? elder nostalgic of their youth and vynil rituals? may be but how much? audiophiles brainwashed by vynil sounds better? may be but how much ? does it sell, rap? club? rock? new? old ?.....
there lay be several reasons which are not necessarily linked to the fact that it is physical format.
if it is only because of physical fomat, then it is more about fetichism/collections than about music.
Vinyl Valet Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Let's also remember here that the article (and many others) only talks about NEW vinyl. Used records trade regularly at record stores, flea markets and yard sales. Probably in greater quantities than new vinyl does. Most of these buyers are not fetshists, but listeners. Doubt the pervasveness of this segment of thevinyl trade? Take a look at recordshowsofamerica.com
@HugeAu Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Huge
Duh! Same for CDs
@KobiSteve Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Steve Robertson
that's horrible, a real shame.
A Label who knows soundscan Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Wow, it's obvious that whomever wrote this article is unfamiliar with Soundscan's practice of "weighting" (the technique whereby a sale of 1 unit at an indie store is reported as 5-10 units on soundscan). For example, each sale at a store like Sound Garden (Baltimore) and Millennium (Portland) is reported as 10 units on soundscan.
So if anything, the problem is the opposite - the numbers you're seeing on soundscan for CD's and vinyl are often grossly INFLATED. I have had many artists who look like they're selling 100 units/week in smaller cities, and then upon checking with the local retail account, we found out that we in fact only sold 10 copies in that city - rather than the 100 copies that were reported that week on soundscan.
Many times, an indie-friendly artist who appears to have sold 10,000 copies on soundscan may have only sold 5000-6000 copies in real life, if the artist's sales take place predominantly in indie record stores.
Weighting is only done by indie record stores. You don't see it done by digital retail accounts, or by chain stores like Best Buy and Walmart. So really, I'd argue that the amount of sales for all CD's and vinyl on soundscan are quite inflated by soundscan, and that industry sales across the board are actually much worse than what soundscan reports.
Visitor Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Look for the real trends in the kids market segment.
/yves villeneuve
@LukeRButler Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Luke Butler
Does it not upweight?
OUR SPONSORS
© 2011 All Rights Reserved
Follow Us