Fundamentally, it\u2019s a challenge which cannot be intellectually overcome in an environment where the vast bulk of people rent access to music, rather than buying individual units of it.<\/p>\n
Only, there are still some people who buy music. In fact, far from disappearing, that group has exploded in size, as one format in particular has staged a very unlikely comeback. Vinyl LP sales have increased almost 100-fold over the past 20 years, a phenomenon we document on The Long Play<\/a>, a new podcast hosted by Charlotte Ryan and co-produced by Daylight and The Spinoff. For the first time in a very long time, vinyl now makes up a meaningful proportion of the album charts.\u00a0<\/p>\n Yet because modern charts now include streaming data from the likes of platforms like YouTube and Spotify, as well as physical sales, we have never known which artists and albums were driving this change. Until now.\u00a0<\/p>\n Recorded Music New Zealand, which assembles and administers the Aotearoa Music Charts, did a major piece of data analysis for The Long Play. Exclusively revealed in the series, Kennedy and RMNZ have put together charts which tell the story of the resurgence of vinyl as a format. The charts cover a vast 22-year span, thus taking in the doldrums, during which vinyl was confined to a precious few indie record stores, and the stunning revival, which sees records take up significant chunks of JB Hi-Fi\u2019s floor space.<\/p>\n Here we bring you the debut of these charts, across both individual titles and for artists, both local and international. Below you\u2019ll find the charts, and my observations on the story they tell.<\/p>\n Top vinyl sellers \u2013 overall<\/p>\n The vinyl revival would be much diminished without the contribution of Taylor Swift, one of the most popular artists in history. She has incredibly devoted fans, and plays them like a Fender, releasing dozens of variations which pump her sales beyond the already giddy heights they would naturally reach. She is the best-selling artist on vinyl of the last 22 years, a fact which will shock no one.\u00a0<\/p>\n But it does feel instructive that she takes three of the top five spots, each of them albums released in the past three years \u2013 one of those a re-recording! The best-selling album of the past 22 years was released less than 18 months ago. Think on that. Curiously she only has three more entries in the top 50, which really shows just how recent a phenomenon the vinyl revival is, and how much her fandom soared in the post-Covid era.<\/p>\n Look deeper into the chart<\/a> and four distinct themes emerge: heritage classics, pop fandoms, artists with intense cult followings and beloved local acts. The first basket is headed up by Queen, David Bowie and Pink Floyd, whose Dark Side of the Moon might be the longest-charting album across all formats in history. The fact that this trio outrates the Beatles and Rolling Stones suggests that the 60s are giving way to the 70s as the apex decade for cultural nostalgia.\u00a0<\/p>\n The next is probably the most easily anticipated. Harry Styles, Ed Sheeran, Olivia Rodrigo, Kendrick Lamar and Billie Eilish have huge streaming numbers and play stadiums. Of course they sell. That said, it\u2019s as instructive to see who fits that description and isn\u2019t here. The Weeknd, Drake, Coldplay and Bruno Mars are all huge streamers; none show up here. That might be partly supply chain issues, but it feels like something else.<\/p>\n Who does show up? Tyler the Creator. Mac Miller. Queens of the Stone Age. Big artists \u2013 but there are dozens with more followers and streams. What counts for more is the obsessive quality of their fans. That\u2019s always described metal well \u2013 a community that makes little sense to outsiders but is deeply loyal and not at all shy about spending money. Metallica, Tool, Iron Maiden and AC\/DC as well as adjacent guitar-driven alternative acts like Radiohead, Alice in Chains and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.\u00a0<\/p>\n What else leaps out? Czarface?! A Wu-Tang offshoot with half a million monthly listeners. Mystifying. The social-powered resurgences of Gorillaz and Arctic Monkeys. There\u2019s also a deeply satisfying local quotient, which I\u2019ll address in the next chart.<\/p>\n Top vinyl sellers \u2013 local<\/p>\n The top of this list neatly crosses over with the upper rungs of the big chart \u2013 showing both a profound interest from domestic fans, along with a strong ground game from some artists, who sell vinyl alongside merch while touring avidly. Put L.A.B. at the top of that list. No local artist has sold as many records, despite having been formed less than a decade ago. They\u2019ve released and toured relentlessly, and have sold enough vinyl to make the top 10 overall \u2013 one ahead of Fleetwood Mac, whose Rumours has been a staple driver of the vinyl revival.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lorde comes in second, thanks largely to the success of Melodrama \u2013 showing our exquisite taste in our biggest global artist, because that album is dwarfed by Pure Heroine on a streaming basis. Virgin had only been out for a matter of weeks when this chart was compiled, but its exceptional release energy did enough to give it a spot in the lower reaches of the top 50 \u2013 a couple of spots ahead of Meatloaf\u2019s megaselling Bat Out of Hell, which has been out for the entire 22-year period. Further proof that vinyl sales are peaking right now. The biggest-selling local record of all goes to neither, though \u2013 Split Enz\u2019s True Colours tops them both.<\/p>\n The next three artists feel deeply instructive about what makes a vinyl seller distinct from a streaming artist. None of them have ever topped a million monthly Spotify listeners. Between them they\u2019ve headlined Spark Arena just twice in a combined five decades of performing. Yet Fat Freddy\u2019s Drop, Marlon Williams and The Beths have all outsold the almighty Six60 on vinyl. This is not a perfect comparison \u2013 Six60 have not emphasised the format as strongly, and currently have only one LP available in their store (two air fresheners<\/a> and a stubby cooler<\/a> are in stock, though). Those fanbases might be smaller, but they will buy records any chance they get.<\/p>\n The chart is full of artists like that \u2013 the hard-touring and obsessively followed out-selling those which beat them by other metrics. Avantdale Bowling Club, Tami Neilson, Devilskin, Reb Fountain and Teeks all fit that mould. It also helps to work your arse off: Troy Kingi, nearing the end of his epic 10 albums, 10 genres, 10 years project, has another 10: 10th best-selling local vinyl artist this century.<\/p>\n Beyond that you see a local version of the reissue-mania which has helped propel those building collections in the main chart. Th\u2019 Dudes, Home Brew, Shihad and Supergroove have all sold a tonne of records, often propelled by reunion tours.\u00a0<\/p>\n Yet even the nostalgia circuit has a pleasingly odd shape to it. Along with names which crop up in any sweeping survey of our best and brightest are a clutch of artists who almost never do. The D4, Push Push and Tadpole all made the top 30. It doesn\u2019t quite make sense \u2013 but that unexpected, slightly irrational quality is precisely what has driven the vinyl revival in the first place, and makes the gift of this one-time data dump so compelling.<\/p>\n Check out the new vinyl charts in all their glory over on the Official Aotearoa Music Charts website \u2013 Top 40 Vinyl Charts<\/a> and Top 20 Aotearoa Vinyl Charts<\/a>. Launched in tandem with The Long Play podcast, proudly brought to you by Recorded Music NZ, Coffee Supreme and Holiday Records.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The last time our music charts were dominated by vinyl, David Lange was prime minister. Now a new…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":225387,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[157,111,43,139,69,1066,134735,52559,123306,52560],"class_list":["post-225386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-music","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-pop-culture","tag-recorded-music-new-zealand","tag-the-long-play","tag-tourism-fiji-summer","tag-vinyl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225386"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225386\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/225387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Duncan Greive, Charlotte Ryan and Paul Kennedy on The Long Play<\/p>\n
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