Change the Record: Vinyl Passes Million

As expected, annual sales of vinyl albums in the UK have passed the 1 million mark for the first time since 1996- with the flipside being that the format continues to be extremely niche, representing 2% of the market.

Official Charts Company data released by the BPI revealed that sales hit one million last weekend, with the expected final total at 1.2m, exceeding 1996’s total of 1,083,206.

Disproving the myth that vinyl appeals primarily to ageing rock fans with the income and inclination to buy it, Pink Floyd’s new album The Endless River is the fastest-selling vinyl album this century so far, with 6,000 sales in its first week. Arctic Monkey’s fourth album AM remains the top seller of 2014, with a top ten also featuring no less than three Led Zeppelin albums, The Stone Roses and Oasis, Jack White and Royal Blood. The revolution will be driven by heritage acts as the completely non-existent saying goes.

Official Charts Company Chief Executive Martin Talbot said: “In scoring the biggest opening week for a vinyl album this millennium, Pink Floyd’s The Endless River illustrates the British public’s renewed love for this format, which is on course to become a £20m business this year – an incredible turnaround from barely £3m just five years ago. This resurgence also underlines music fans’ continuing fascination with the album”.

In other milestone news, it was announced this week that Ed Sheeran's second album 'X' has surpassed the one million sales mark, after spending eight weeks at the top of the chart.

The BPI’s Gennaro Castaldo said: “The million-selling success of X confirms Ed Sheeran’s arrival as a global superstar. Ed is breaking chart records for fun at the moment, which should come as no surprise given his songs clearly connect with fans in such a profound way”.