Vinyl sales continue to reach record-breaking levels in the US. A new report from Statista found that vinyl sales have risen for the 17th consecutive year outpacing CD sales.

In 2022, more than 43 million LPs were sold, up 48-fold since 2006 when vinyl began to make a comeback. The recent pandemic is also believed to have had an impact on record sales as people looked for new ways to explore their favorite activities while in lockdown. 

The result has been a continued interest in LPs and the reissue of albums by record labels in this form. In 2022, 43 percent of album sales were in the form of LPs. This is in an era where streaming and downloads have been the prevalent form of buying music. 

According to the RIAA revenue statistics, LP sales outnumbered CD sales for the first time in history last year. Revenue from physical format music reached $1.7 billion in 2022, up 4 percent over 2021. Vinyl record sales grew to 1.2 billion, up 17 percent from the year before and CD units fell to $483 million, an 18 percent drop from the year before. 

The number of paid music subscriptions is also on the rise, growing 10 percent in 2022 to $92 million. Meanwhile, digital downloads fell in 2022 by 20 percent to $495 million. 

Revenues from digitally downloaded music continued to decline in 2022, down 20 percent to $495 million. Individual album sales and individual track sales dropped by 20 percent, making up just 3 percent of U.S. recorded music revenues. This is down from 43 percent in 2012. 

Experts believe that LP sales are a significant factor in this change in music purchasing.