UK vinyl singles up 87% ... what?

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in the age of declining sales and increasing downloads, it seems that 7" sales in the UK are way up.

The report from BPI below....but whats going on over there people?

British indie rock fans spark seven inch vinyl revival

Annual sales of seven-inch vinyl singles now approach 1.4 million units, representing a massive 64% improvement year-on-year and the best 12 months for the format since 1998, according to data compiled by BPI

With vinyl firmly back in fashion, the seven inch’s improving fortunes have been attributed to fans of British indie and rock acts.

Best-selling seven inch single in the year to March 2005 was a limited edition reissue of Iron Maiden’s Number of the Beast. Elsewhere the format is dominated by a new generation of UK rock acts including the Libertines, Babyshambles, Kaiser Chiefs and Franz Ferdinand.

BPI Chairman Peter Jamieson said: “Despite the incredible growth in download sales, there is still a huge demand for the collectible physical formats. It would be wrong to write-off physical formats just yet. Record companies are committed to meeting consumer demand in whatever format people want their music ”

The Vinyl Top 20; 12 months ending March 31 2005

1 The Number Of The Beast - Iron Maiden (EMI Records)

2 Killamangiro - Babyshambles (Rough Trade)

3 Can’t Stand Me Now - The Libertines (Rough Trade)

4 Oh My God - Kaiser Chiefs (B Unique)

5 Matinee - Franz Ferdinand (Domino Recordings)

6 Wonderful - Brian Wilson (Atlantic Records)

7 An Honest Mistake - The Bravery (Polydor)

8 What Became Of The Likely Lads - The Libertines (Rough Trade)

9 Boulevard Of Broken Dreams - Green Day (Warner Bros)

10 American Idiot - Green Day (Warner Bros)

11 For Lovers - Wolfman ft Pete Doherty (Rough Trade)

12 The Bottle - Paul Weller (V2 Music)

13 Jolene: Live Under Blackpool Lights - White Stripes (XL Recordings)

14 5 Colours In Her Hair - McFly (Universal Island)

15 You’ll Come Round - Status Quo (UMTV)

16 Hounds Of Love - Futureheads (Warner Bros)

17 So Here We Are/Positive Tension - Bloc Party (Wichita Recordings)

18 Black and White Town - Doves (EMI Records)

19 Michael - Franz Ferdinand (Domino Recordings)

20 Irish Blood, English Heart - Morrissey (Sanctuary)

7 inch single sales, 12 months ending:

March 31 1998 | 1,637,000

March 31 1999 | 910,000

March 31 2000 | 601,000

March 31 2001 | 504,000

March 31 2002 | 455,000

March 31 2003 | 530,000

March 31 2005 | 1,380,000

(from http://www.bpi.co.uk/index.asp?Page=news/stats/news_content_file_938.shtml)

― b b, Thursday, 14 July 2005 13:47 (twenty years ago)

Record companies are committed to meeting consumer demand in whatever format people want their music

Hahahahahahahah!

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Thursday, 14 July 2005 13:50 (twenty years ago)

1 The Number Of The Beast - Iron Maiden (EMI Records)

\m/ \m/

― grimly fiendish (grimlord), Thursday, 14 July 2005 13:52 (twenty years ago)

Is that the bottom half of a cartoon elephant?

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 14 July 2005 13:54 (twenty years ago)

the shelves are fit to burst with 'limited' 7" singles as i have said elsewhere ..

but no-one ever seems to go and buy them in the bristol virgin, they really are struggling to put them on display ..

― mark e (mark e), Thursday, 14 July 2005 13:57 (twenty years ago)

can anyone speculate how sales have been for shops like roughtrade or rhythm and that sort?

i've never been in a virgin that ist a megastore, but i can't imagine they are selling that many 7"s. are they?

― b b, Thursday, 14 July 2005 14:05 (twenty years ago)

The 7" display section in our local Virgin megastore is now the same size as the new release CD singles section, and has been for a few months.

― mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Thursday, 14 July 2005 14:08 (twenty years ago)

Record companies are committed to meeting consumer demand in whatever format people want their music.

Translation: Record companies are committed to stimulating consumer demand in whatever format people find the most difficult to reproduce for free.

― mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Thursday, 14 July 2005 14:09 (twenty years ago)

OK it wasn't that funny. I still want to buy DVD-Rs containing wavs though.

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Thursday, 14 July 2005 14:11 (twenty years ago)

let it be known that i was lead to this info by some nerd who notices info like this...

theres yr credit, sir

they rest of you can now continue explinging why the UK is mad for vinyl

― b b, Thursday, 14 July 2005 14:13 (twenty years ago)

This is from a very low base. There's been a trend over the last couple of years for record companies to capitalise on the affection for vinyl by issuing 7"s of all the new wave revival bands especially. They're often only 99p. Larger chainstores stock them, people buy them.

― Alba (Alba), Thursday, 14 July 2005 14:22 (twenty years ago)

am i leaping to assumptions by saying it's corny indie fucs who prefer to hear the libs on vinyl cause that's how things were when their kind of proper music ruled the world (1995)?

― N_RQ, Thursday, 14 July 2005 14:23 (twenty years ago)

If they're only 99p is the quality of the vinyl gonna be that good?

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Thursday, 14 July 2005 14:25 (twenty years ago)

It's the old "exclusive to the 7" bside" ruse...

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 14 July 2005 14:31 (twenty years ago)

not just indie fucs n_rq .. major label munchkins are shelling these out by the bucketload (see coldplay, white stripes, gorillaz, girls aloud etc), but, there is a high level of Poptones et al type of thing going on ..

― mark e (mark e), Thursday, 14 July 2005 14:32 (twenty years ago)

If they're ~~only 99p~~ is the quality of the ~~vinyl~~ music gonna be that good?

― Taste the Blood of Scrovula (noodle vague), Thursday, 14 July 2005 14:33 (twenty years ago)

Damn.

If they're ~~only 99p~~ the Libertines is the quality of the ~~vinyl~~ music gonna be that good?

― Taste the Blood of Scrovula (noodle vague), Thursday, 14 July 2005 14:34 (twenty years ago)

are they selling pete doherty 7"s with a free kate moss cigarette butt yet?

(do people still say fag end?)

― b b, Thursday, 14 July 2005 14:40 (twenty years ago)

Haha! "Better than Babyshambles" is the answer.

― Chewshabadoo (Chewshabadoo), Thursday, 14 July 2005 14:41 (twenty years ago)

"Better than Babyshambles" /= teh grebt.

― Taste the Blood of Scrovula (noodle vague), Thursday, 14 July 2005 14:44 (twenty years ago)

It's the old "exclusive to the 7" bside" ruse...

i do hate this so much. this whole new cd + 2 x 7" bizzo is giving me the shits almost to the point of making me not buy singles at all.

― shine headlights on me (electricsound), Thursday, 14 July 2005 23:43 (twenty years ago)

if you were paying 99p instead of $12 on import you'd be delighted though yeah?

― kit brash (kit brash), Friday, 15 July 2005 00:09 (twenty years ago)

not really. i get all my stuff from the UK anyway so it's more like $5 after postage. still too much for one exclusive song that eight times out of ten turns out to be shite

― shine headlights on me (electricsound), Friday, 15 July 2005 00:22 (twenty years ago)

People who need to buy every fart their heroes expel deserve to be fleeced.

― Taste the Blood of Scrovula (noodle vague), Friday, 15 July 2005 01:02 (twenty years ago)

fuck up sook

― shine headlights on me (electricsound), Friday, 15 July 2005 01:09 (twenty years ago)

7" records are pretty looking - irrespective of the music. A 7" pic disc wins over a CD single with a pic on it. I am fond of the 2 songs for 2 pounds CD singles.

― SoHoLa (SoHoLa), Friday, 15 July 2005 01:12 (twenty years ago)

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