According to CNN and the RIAA, the number of new vinyl LPs shipped from manufacturers jumped 36 percent from 2006 to 2007 (to 1.3 million units) while CDs dropped 17 percent in the same period (to 511 million). While that's still a real David-and-Goliath scenario–even if the article fails to point out the fundamental fact that the vast majority of new releases aren't even available on vinyl–it's heartening to music fans, bands, labels, and retailers (like the awesome Vinyl Collective) who just can't let vinyl give up the ghost. CNN cites all the usual reasons for the preservation of LPs–the sound, the artwork, the experience, the nostalgia–and also mentions another big factor in vinyl sales over the past couple years: the increasing trend of record labels offering free downloads of an entire album with its purchase on vinyl. (In fact, I just partook of such a bonus yesterday when I picked up Static Thoughts, the killer debut by Portland's The Estranged.) The article also mentions the new vinyl sections that are continuing to pop up in many brick-and-mortar music stores, after the mass exodus of the format from retail floors in the '90s.
And on that note, don't forget to check out this week's installment in our own Vinyl Retentive series (which includes links to all our past installments).