KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via GI. As fun as some fans find it – and I joke that it’s my favorite holiday – it’s hard to remember how odd an idea it seemed when it started, in 2007. Back then, CD sales were sliding fast, download sales were growing a lot slower, and mass-market streaming was still taking shape. The idea of a day devoted to buying vinyl, much less in physical stores, was anything but obvious.
Now look. Vinyl generated more revenue in the U.S. than CDs by 2019, and more unit sales by 2022, according to the RIAA. Last year, vinyl generated $1.2 billion in the U.S. — more than Latin music, which brought in $1.1 billion, although Latin music brings in far more worldwide. And much of this growth came at a time of serious challenges, from insufficient manufacturing capacity to supply chain problems.