Forget the headlines about vinyl's downfall—recent reports of a massive drop in vinyl sales were flat-out wrong. Earlier this month, Billboard’s Market Watch mistakenly claimed that U.S. vinyl sales had plummeted by 33% in 2024, dropping from 34.9 million units in 2023 to just 23.3 million this year. The claim quickly spread, but thanks to Discogs, the error was debunked.
Discogs confirmed that U.S. vinyl sales are actually up by 6.2% compared to last year, shining a light on a strong and thriving market. The mistake, according to Discogs, stemmed from changes in the way Luminate—a company providing data for Billboard—collects its numbers. Luminate used to estimate physical sales by sampling independent record stores. However, starting on December 29, 2023, the company shifted to counting actual sales across the whole U.S. indie market, which caused a data misinterpretation in the initial report.
After reaching out to Luminate's Chris Muratore, Discogs confirmed the mistake, and Billboard quickly updated its report. Luminate’s mid-year report acknowledged that their new method represents a more accurate snapshot of the indie vinyl market but admitted they lack historical data to draw year-over-year comparisons.
"Independent record stores remain the backbone of vinyl culture. We want to set the record straight: Vinyl is still in demand, indie stores are thriving, and the market is growing," said Jeffrey Smith, VP of Marketing at Discogs.
The vinyl revival is real, and it’s not slowing down anytime soon. Despite rising costs and environmental debates, vinyl continues to hold a firm place in music culture. Last year, UK vinyl sales hit a 16-year streak of growth, further proof that the global love for records is stronger than ever.
