The price of a vinyl record rose 25.5 percent from 2017 to 2023, from $24.90 to $31.25, outpacing inflation overall. The price for vinyl is heavily dependent on manufacturing costs compared to other music distribution formats — for instance, CDs only grew about 20 percent more expensive over that period — and a couple of music trends are fueling the rise. Albums are getting longer, with the average number of tracks on albums in the Billboard top 10 climbing from 13.2 in 2014 to 19.1 in 2022, and that means more records when those albums are shipped in vinyl as double or even triple LPs.
Comments