the vinyl market | Italy

1.1 Definition and scope of study

The term vinyl refers to a medium used to store and reproduce sound. Vinyl, also known as a vinyl record, is played on a turntable, a special instrument connected to an amplifier capable of reproducing sound. Vinyl records are distinguished by the speed at which they move, expressed in revolutions per minute on the turntable. The most common vinyl records are 78, 45 and 33 rpm and differ from each other in sound quality, record size and cylinder resistance. 

In terms of global market, it was valued at USD 179 million in 2019 and is expected to reach USD 481.5 million by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 15.0% between the year 2021 and 2026. The fastest growing market globally is the United States, where vinyl album revenue accounts for 62% of total physical media revenue. 

The figures for the Italian market do not differ much from those of the US market. Vinyl is coming back into fashion as a symbol of a certain timeless musical culture. Vinyl sales between 2016 and 2017, although not surpassing CD sales, increased by 50%, generating a revenue of 13 million euros in 2017. The overtaking with CD for the first time since 1991 occurred in 2020 when vinyl sales increased by 121% over the previous year while CD suffered a 6% loss.

This flourishing market trend, despite the pandemic period, is mainly due to the e-commerce market where a wide and differentiated offer of vinyl is available. In addition, a key factor in this growth in the last period has been the re-release of historic albums such as the Beatles' Abbey Road on vinyl.