UK notices rise in vinyl record sales, includes it to inflation statistics

Vinyl records soared in popularity in the UK so much that its government has decided to add it back to its basket of goods and services used to measure inflation.

These oversized black discs will be included in Britain’s inflation statistics for the first time since 1992, and their resurgence in popularity is partly driven by Taylor Swift.

How?
Swift’s latest album, 1989 (Taylor’s Version), was the most sold in the UK last year, where 6.1 million vinyl records were bought—the highest number since 1990, according to data from the British Phonographic Industry.

In the US, within six days of its release, the album sold 580,000 records per Luminate, making it the biggest vinyl sales week since 1991.

Vinyl has been making record-breaking sales in America for the past two years. Around 41 million vinyl records were sold in 2022, bringing in a whopping $1.2 billion—way higher than CD sales, which were at 33 million, bringing in $483 million the same year.