It’s official: vinyl is now bigger than PlayStation (sort of)

OK, we’re having you on a bit with that headline, but new data released by the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) indicates that vinyl has now overtaken PlayStation games, DVDs and CDs to become the second most popular form of physical entertainment in the UK.

Despite well-documented production bottlenecks, the resurgent format now trails only to physical Nintendo Switch games, having enjoyed a 12.2% rise in sales in the past year. The research indicates that UK music fans have so far spent £80.9m on vinyl LPs in 2022 - that’s 20% more than they’ve shelled out on CDs.

Commenting on the figures, ERA CEO Kim Bayley said: ”Vinyl’s rise and rise seems unstoppable. For a 74-year-old analogue format to eclipse the digital-age technology of games platforms is quite extraordinary. Ten years into its long climb back to favour, the vinyl revival is most definitely here to stay.”

Of course, these figures ignore the fact that a lot of video games are purchased digitally these days, but vinyl’s resurgence is still pretty remarkable. Not everyone is over the moon about it, though; back in July, Ableton Live co-creator argued that the CD is a better option for people who still want to be able to hold their music in their hands.

“I still love physical products,” he said, “but manufacturing big heavy plates of plastic and have [sic] them shipped around the globe is a huge waste of energy and resources.”

One music format that hasn’t made the ERA’s list of top-selling physical entertainment formats is the cassette, so maybe that revival has been somewhat overstated.