The Vinyl Revival Grooves on

The Vinyl Revival Grooves on

LONDON, April 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --



35-44s return to records and dust off their turntables



Key findings



40% of vinyl buyers describe themselves as collectors



34% of vinyl buyers either don't own or don't use a turntable



30% of people discover new music for the first time on YouTube



HMV is now the third biggest retailer of physical music after Amazon and


supermarkets



Blues, jazz, reggae, folk and hip hop are particularly popular on vinyl



The resurgence of vinyl is continuing according to latest research from ICM Unlimited.
In the run up to Record Store Day this Saturday, April 18th, ICM's latest research shows
that sales of vinyl records in 2015 are healthier than ever across all age groups. 18-24
year olds are still driving the revival, but older music fans particularly 35-44 year olds
have also embraced the format - many are rediscovering their love of vinyl and dusting off
their turntables.



Vinyl demand



7% of people bought vinyl in last month, up two percentage points from 2013, and not
bad for a format where the revival has been led by people power. One fifth (21%) of 18-24
year olds bought vinyl in the last month, up from 14% in 2013. 11% of 25-34 year olds
bought records in the last month, up from 9% in 2013.



Maurice Fyles, Research Director at ICM Unlimited says: "We've been talking to
consumers about their music purchasing behaviour for three years now and during that time
we have seen a real resurgence in the appetite for vinyl. Fans of all genres are buying
new and second-hand vinyl online and on the high street.



YouTube is the gateway to sales of music. It is used as a virtual library for every
track, band, and style of music before buyers' part with their cash. And once people
decide what they want, as well as the major retailers - Amazon, the supermarkets and HMW -
websites like eBay and discogs are meeting the demand for limited edition, rare and
second-hand releases on vinyl and other physical formats."



YouTube is a virtual library used for discovering new music



YouTube has become to go-to destination for researching and listening to music before
purchase. With one third (30%) of people visiting YouTube to find music, the site is only
slightly less influential than friends' recommendations (32%). 18-24 year olds discover
more music on YouTube at 62%, but every age group uses the video sharing website in some
way - it's 32% for 35-44 year olds and 29% for 45-54 year olds. This is considerably more
than other digital sources including Shazam and Spotify.



eBay and charity shops



Amazon, supermarkets and HMV are the main destinations for people buying physical
music in the UK. For HMV this is a significant achievement since its rescue from
administration in 2013. Half of all vinyl buyers buy music on eBay. 12% of people buy
music from charity shops and 8% from independent record stores.



34% of vinyl buyers either don't own or don't use a turntable



Perhaps because collecting is such an important reason for buying vinyl, the research
continues to show that many people that buy records never get them out of the sleeve. One
fifth (22%) of vinyl buyers have turntables that aren't set up or are kept in storage, and
4% don't have turntables at all. The number of 35-44 year olds playing vinyl has more than
doubled since 2013 when 6% used their record players: now the figure is 14%. This is a
combination of people getting their record player out of the loft or garage, and buying a
new one. At one in ten, 35-44 year olds and 18-24s are the age groups with the highest
stated intention of wanting to buy a turntable (10%).



Pop, rock and classical are top of the vinyl favourites



For the first time the research asked people what genre of music they are buying on
vinyl. The result shows that more specialist genres such as Blues, Hip Hop, Jazz, Folk and
Reggae perform particularly well on vinyl.



Overall, pop music is top (51%), followed by rock (41%) and classical at 34%.



Four in ten of all vinyl buyers describe themselves as collectors



At two thirds (67%), collecting is highest amongst 35-54 year olds, compared to one
third (33%) of 18-24 year olds and one fifth (22%) of those aged 25-34. In terms of cost,
vinyl is an investment. The average price of a vinyl album is GBP18.73, compared to
GBP8.29 for a CD.



Maurice Fyles, Research Director at ICM Unlimited says: "For vinyl fans the format
offers the chance to collect limited and luxury editions and enjoy the sleeve artwork and
a different listening experience. The music industry has responded to the vinyl revival by
launching a brand new vinyl-only chart. The combination of tracks from Ed Sheeran and Noel
Gallagher alongside reissues of back catalogues from legends including David Bowie and Led
Zeppelin promises to produce an eclectic top 20."



Notes to editors:



The research included a nationally representative* online survey of 2052 consumers run
between 13th and 15th February 2015. ('Nationally representative' means quotas have been
set and weighting has been applied to several key demographics to ensure the sample is
representative of the population of Great Britain.)



About the ICM Unlimited - Clear thinking in a complex world



ICM Unlimited designs and delivers bespoke insight solutions for commercial, public
sector and third sector organisations. We combine operational excellence and insights
expertise across qualitative, quantitative, analytical and digital methods to help our
clients find answers to their business questions. We operate globally, with specialist
areas covering Customer Experience Management, Brand and Communications Delivery,
Innovation, Market Landscape and Stakeholder Engagement. Our mission is to deliver clear
thinking for organisations to succeed in a complex world. This is achieved by delivering
well-thought out research solutions to clients business needs, using the best talent the
industry has to offer.



http://www.icmunlimited.com



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Wes Rogers, wes@greenfieldscommunications.com T: +44(0)203-287-3262
Lucy Green, lucy@greenfieldscommunications.com T: +44(0)7817-698366


ICM Unlimited


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