The first single by legendary Australian rock band AC/DC “Can I Sit Next to You, Girl” cost between $1 and $1.50 when it was released in 1974.
That equates to between $6.50 and $9.80 when adjusted for inflation but, if you want to own the “45” (revolutions per minute) record, you may have pay more than $3,000 in the secondary market, according to record traders and collectors.
A resurgence of interest over the last decade is driving demand for new and used records as people old and young discover and re-discover the appeal of sounds on vinyl (polyvinyl chloride) in Australia’s recorded music market.
This is illustrated by wholesale (shipments to retailers and online sales and streams) statistics from the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), the national body representing major and independent record producers, manufacturers and distributors.
Sales of new vinyl albums were $42.1 million in the 2023 calendar year, which was a staggering 1,384% more than sales of $2.8 million in 2013.
This gave vinyl a 6% share of a $676 million “new” music market, which is dominated by digital recordings such as subscription services, ad supported streaming, downloads and video streaming with a 91% share, leaving compact discus (CDs) with 3%.
A decade ago, digital represented 55% of the market, followed by CDs (40%), vinyl albums and singles (1%) with music videos and DVDs representing the balance.
Used or “pre-loved” records are being traded at retail stores, record fairs and markets, generating turnover that some estimate could be worth “hundreds of millions of dollars” per year, but this is difficult to verify because the information is not published.
Vinyl was the major format for recorded music until the advent of cassette tapes in the 1970s, and then in the 1980s compact discs (CDs) became the biggest seller.
Josh McGarrity, National Sales Manager for wholesale distributor Rocket Distribution, said vinyl records made up about 80% of its business with CDs the balance, in a reversal of the position a decade ago.
“We’ve seen a vinyl resurgence over the last 10 years, but it’s been a gradual increase,” McGarrity told Azzet.
“People want to get physical media for their money. There’s an element of nostalgia for the older people buying it and there’s a theory that it sounds better on vinyl.
“It really hit its straps through the COVID lockdowns. People were sitting down and playing. They had more time to chill.”
He cited nostalgia as a driver of demand with albums like Fleetwood Mac's Rumours and Definitely Maybe by Oasis seeing as they were repackaged into deluxe special editions.
Some of his customers operated stores selling secondhand records, which he believed offered higher margins than new albums.
“They can buy a record for $10 and sell it for $100, whereas the new record they can sell for $100 might cost them $60,” McGarrity said.
The number of stores in Melbourne stocking secondhand records is estimated to have more than doubled to almost 100 over the last 20 years, according to music and record markets, fair and trade manager, who calls himself Lord Lucifer.
“There’s an appetite for records,” said Lucifer, who started collecting about 40 years ago and amassed about 4,000 records before pivoting into management of record fairs around 2017 to give sellers an outlet for their products at events like his Big Vinyl Dig.
“I saw people on both days (of a recent fair) walking out with bundles (of records) under their arms,” he said.
While the potential supply of new albums was almost unlimited because they could be-released, many of the best used records had been discovered and sold to collectors.
“Someone said all of the gold has been dug up,” Lucifer said.
He estimated the number of record sellers and traders in the state of Victoria had tripled in the last three to four years.
Among the factors he cited for the vinyl resurgence was demand from the “hipsters” sub-culture of people aged in their 20s and 30s with alternative and vintage tastes who believe that “what’s old is new again”.
He said recording artists were also behind the movement because they wanted to address the pirating of their intellectual property by copying it onto CDs.
Jamie Jones, proprietor of Melbourne record retailer JJ’s Vinyl, identified a gap in the market for new records when he started selling at record fairs in 2012.
“At record fairs you find guys who have been collecting vinyl all of their lives. They’re very particular about the pressings,” Jones said, who also deals in secondhand stock.
“When I started attending record fairs I noticed a real resurgence in new vinyl, which has introduced vinyl to a demographic who wouldn’t have touched it. Some of them are paying up to $100 for a double LP (long play record).
“A lot of them will not open them. They’re buying to collect them. Some young people say ‘I don’t have a vinyl player’ (turntable). But that is helping the market to grow.”
Jones estimated demand for records had increased 50% since the COVID lockdowns when people had to spend so much time at home.
“A lot of people were getting into vinyl because they didn’t have anything to do during lockdowns. My sales during that time were massive. People realised there was money being thrown around by the government that they wanted to spend. There was a backlog of vinyl orders but a lot of the distributors have finally caught up,” he said.
This demand drove prices higher with a record that typically could have been purchased for $35 pre-COVID now selling for $50.
“People tell me vinyl sounds better, it’s more tactile and they enjoy playing a record from start to finish. It forces you to listen to an album in its entirety which was the way the artist intended. A lot of people had only been exposed to streaming,” Jones said.
ARIA Chief Executive Officer Annabelle Herd said vinyl was increasingly important as the market evolved, giving fans across generations the opportunity to add classics to their collections and giving new fans a greater sense of connection and ownership.
“It is in important sector for independent artists, DJs (disc jockeys) and emerging subcultures that deserves serious recognition,” Hird said in a media release.
Melbourne ‘indie’ band Kitschen Boy pressed about 150 vinyl copies of its Now Arriving at Panic Station album to sell with merchandise at their performances around Australia.
Guitarist Ted Mitchell said vinyl was an important part of the band’s music releases.
“As independent and smaller artists you can make a little bit of money back with merchandise,” said Mitchell.
“It’s important for a band like ours, especially when travelling interstate because you are operating on razor-thin margins. It also gives us a keepsake that we can show our kids.
“Unless you do music as your primary career you need to have reasonably well paid jobs to fund your expensive hobby.”
Mitchell, whose day job is in public relations and marketing, plays with a mechanic (singer Dylan Baddeley), teacher (bassist Carlos Tinsey) and an engineer (drummer Lewis Hentschke).
“Thankfully our band is now maturing enough to break even. We will play a headline show and try and fill our pockets so we can finance the next flights and car hire. It becomes autonomously financed,” he said.
“Vinyls are well and truly in demand from independent artists. There’s more margin than from streaming royalties. You need millions of streams to make serious money whereas when you sell vinyl it’s money up front.”
Mitchell also likes the sound of a record when it goes onto the turntable.
“The moment of anticipation you get when you listen to vinyl, you listen to the crackles, it’s almost as exciting as listening to the record itself. It’s an experiential listening thing and a more fulfilling experience than digital.”