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Vinyl records have been making a comeback over the past few years with 2016 seeing more than 3.2 million new records purchased, making it the biggest surge in sales for over twenty-three years.

With the current music industry being dominated by the likes of iTunes and music streaming sites, the CD and more physical purchases have seen a drop in sales for years. However, there has been a development in music consumption and this has seen vinyl record sales soar. This makes an unlikely but significant comeback for what many people may call ‘proper music’.

Vinyl which has been wrapped by a shrink wrapping machine

This has also been great news for companies who provide shrink wrapping services, as modern day vinyl records are mainly covered using a shrink wrapping machine; making sure the vinyl is preserved, as well as protecting it during transportation and storage.

Before shrink wrap was invented, vinyl records used to be sealed in standard plastic pocket or not even wrapped at all! Now, many independent record labels and suppliers purchase their own shrink wrap machine to wrap CD’s as well as vinyl records.

Music ownership has become less physical, and the growth of vinyl seems to be showing that many people still care about the act of listening to music; caring about the records and actually sitting down purposely to listen to music.

But why is this? Enthusiasts have always loved the feel and sound of their vinyl and independent record shops have been running ‘Record Store Day’ for a number of years. This has really taken off over the last year; launching exclusive vinyl music at events across stores.

According to music industry experts in digital and vinyl, there are two main reasons for a surge in vinyl sales. Vinyl is still popular because of the high-quality sound it delivers. However, sound isn’t the only appealing thing, as many agree that the tangible aspect of vinyl is also extremely attractive.

The best selling records of 2016 were:

  1. Blackstar – David Bowie
  2. Back to Black – Amy Winehouse
  3. A Moon Shaped Pool – Radiohead
  4. Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix 1 (Original Soundtrack)
  5. Rumours – Fleetwood Mac
  6. Everything You’ve Come to Expect – The Last Shadow Puppets
  7. The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses
  8. Legend – Bob Marley and the Wailers
  9. 25 – Adele
  10. Purple Rain (Official Soundtrack) – Prince & The Revolution

For those who have owned a vinyl record, there is nothing quite like peeling the shrink wrap from your record and then playing it for the first time. At the moment, there isn’t any signs that this trend is stopping, but there are always fluctuations in trends, and there has even been news of many avid collectors now searching for cassettes.

Consequently, things change, but we personally think that the vinyl is a timeless classic which is yet to be replaced by modern streaming sites, which is surprising in this day and age. Many independent businesses are benefitting from the surge in sales as well as the many loyal fans of the vinyl, who enjoy the clean and uncut sound that it provides.