Taylor Swift has made music history yet again with her 10th studio album, ‘Midnights’. The album is the biggest selling vinyl record in the UK this year (and this century, fact fans), helping propel the format to outperform CDs for the first time since 1987.
Since its October release, ‘Midnights’ has gone on to break over 80 records and become the fastest selling vinyl album since tracking began in 1991. It was issued in five colour-coded CD and vinyl editions, and has sold over 80,000 copies in the UK on the latter format, according to the Guardian.
The Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) chief executive Kim Bayley has described this moment as a “watershed moment for the entire music industry”. She went on to say that few would have believed a vinyl renaissance was possible after the CD “pretty much wiped out” the vinyl business in the past.
The surge in vinyl sales has also caused a decline in CD sales. Last year, vinyl sales rose to £135.6 million, whereas CD sales fell by 2.9 per cent to a total of £150 million. Experts predict that vinyl sales this year will overtake CD sales by up to £20 million.
British Phonographic Industry (BPI) chief executive Geoff Taylor commented that vinyl is as “relevant as ever” as it nears its 75th anniversary. He added that “in an age of streaming, physical music purchases remain an essential and healthy part of the music market”.
Taylor Swift will be touring the album across North America in the coming year, and a UK tour is expected to be announced in the months ahead.
