Vinyl Sales Surpass CDs for the First Time Since 1987

Music lovers around the world will come together on Saturday to celebrate Record Store Day. Conceived in 2007 to highlight the cultural significance of independent record stores and celebrate vinyl record culture, the occasion is now widely honored with live performances, special vinyl releases, artist meet-and-greets and other events taking place at record stores across the globe. One of the original objectives of Record Store Day – keeping vinyl records alive – is no longer a priority though, as they are alive and well.

In fact, vinyl album sales in the United States surpassed CD sales for the first time since 1987 last year. There’s an old adage in Germany reminding people to be nice to others on their road to fortune and fame, because you always meet twice: once on the way up and once on the way down. The same apparently is true for music recording media, as the CD is now awkwardly waving hello to vinyl records, which it once drove to near extinction.

According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), 41 million vinyl records were sold in the U.S. last year, up from just 1.3 million in 2007, the year that Record Store Day was conceived. In the meantime, CD album sales plummeted from 500 million units in 2007 to just 33.4 million last year, marking the first time in 35 years that vinyl had the upper hand against its digital descendant.