In an era of unprecedented human access to music, the record industry is experiencing a historic sales boom, largely driven by the dominance of streaming services. Despite many published reports on the surge in vinyl and audiophile turntable sales, the overall RIAA 2022 sales numbers show that physical media is becoming increasingly marginalized thus making up a mere 8.8 percent of record music sales in 2022.
Consumer electronics magazine, FutureAudiophile.com, is closely following this market trend. "Audiophiles are enthusiastic about the uptick in physical media sales, but the Compact Disc and LP are dead formats. As dead as an AOL OS update that arrives via snail mail on a floppy drive" says Jerry Del Colliano, publisher of FutureAudiophile.com. "The fact that young people love music is the real issue and the real hope. Today’s music-loving youth don't have to make the financial sacrifices that GenX and Baby Boomers did as they built their music collections back in the day. But then again, change is a good thing even if the audiophile hobby doesn't embrace very well” said Del Colliano.com.
This sales sea change is also reflected in the recent high-profile sales of music catalogs from legendary artists such as Fleetwood Mac, Bob Dylan, and Queen. These transactions illustrate how music, much like software, has become a lucrative asset class, attracting significant interest from Wall Street. Microsoft, a company that has remained among the top 10 in gross revenue for decades, serves as a prime example of how lucrative software—and now music—can be.
Today's consumers enjoy a "divorce" between physical and streaming media. For the cost of a single physical CD, listeners can access virtually every recording ever made, many in high-resolution streaming formats. While audiophiles may interpret the growth in vinyl sales as a major comeback for the format, the reality is that streaming services are where the vast majority of revenue is being generated.
For more information check out FutureAudiophile.com for more about record 2022 music sales.
Contact:
Jerry Del Colliano
Publisher
(jerry@futureaudiophile.com)
310.860.9988 tel.
2219 Main Street
Suite 695
Santa Monica, CA 90405