U.S. Vinyl Record Sales May Be 6X Higher Than Soundscan Reports
The jump in vinyl sales – both for audiophiles and for fans who just love physical mementos – is well documented. But the trend may be far bigger than the industry previously believed. “SoundScan only gets about 15%,” Vince Slusarz, the owner of top vinyl manufacturer Gotta Grove told the New York Times. Here’s why:
Last year, 2.8 million vinyl records were sold in the United States, according to Nielsen Soundscan, and saleas this year could be 40% higher. But Soundscan uses bar codes to track sales; and, “the majority of the stuff we press, it doesn’t even have a bar code,” according to Slusarz. Add that to the fact that a lot of vinyl records are sold at independent record stores, gigs and on niche web sites and its not hard to see that the vast majority of vinyl sales goes unreported.
If Slusarz 15% estimate is even close to accurate, vinyl sales could top 20 million this year.
Source: Billboard
