In his first column of 2023, the Tameside Radio presenter charts the sensational renaissance of the vinyl music market last year.
A few days into a new year, and we're as close to 2050 as we are to 1996. I had to check that, too. Surely it can't be right! I remember first being told years ago that time goes more quickly as you grow older, and it's probably the most accurate bit of advice I've ever been given, along with 'never watch Mrs Brown's Boys'.
When was the last time you bought a CD? I ask because something remarkable happened in 2022. Vinyl sales, which have been growing consistently each year since 2007, outstripped CDs for the first time since 1987. To give you some context, this was the year when BT caused a stir by replacing many red phone boxes with glass ones, Rick Astley was number one, Max Headroom was dominating TV screens, and Dirty Dancing was huge at the box office.
The vinyl market was worth £116.8 million in sales in 2022, whilst CDs made about £98.3 million, which isn't bad going considering how easy it is to stream most stuff on the likes of Spotify, Deezer and Apple Music. It's amazing to think I used to pay £3.99 for the latest Atomic Kitten single from Woolworths.
A few artists have not made it to streaming for various reasons, including Eddy Grant and De La Soul, although the latter's music will make its debut on Spotify in March after a new label acquired the rights for the iconic album "3 Feet High And Rising", 34 years after its release in 1989. Guyana-born Grant has lashed out at streaming services, describing the royalties paid to musicians as "rubbish". He said in 2021: "In streaming you have got to do, I don't know, 500 million downloads before you get a week's wage or something like that. it's rubbish"
It's perhaps no coincidence that artists including Mick Fleetwood, Neil Young, Blondie's Debbie Harry and Mark Ronson have been selling their back catalogue, in deals worth huge sums of money in many cases. The Wall Street Journal recently reported Justin Bieber is close to a deal flogging his songs for around 200 million dollars (£166 million).Phil Collins and Genesis made around £300 million selling their recordings in 2022, whilst Pink Floyd were hoping for similar Money, to quote one of their biggest songs. No word on a big money deal for Atomic Kitten, but you can have my CD single collection for a tenner. I'll even pay the postage.
Back to the wax resurgence, and Taylor Swift is leading the revival of a format I loved as a kid, with around 80,000 sales of her Midnights album. It was so popular on its release date that it broke Spotify. Kim Bayley, Chief Executive of the Entertainment Retailers Association, said: "It's a watershed moment for the entire music industry. After the CD came along and pretty much wiped out the vinyl business, few of us would have believed a renaissance like this was possible".
I remember CDs being marketed as indestructible on breakfast TV in the 80s. Somewhere on YouTube, you'll find a clip of a mad bloke pouring coffee and honey on one, then apparently successfully playing it. I find that impossible to believe, given how prone my Discman used to be to jumping if I moved even slightly! In spite of that, I have spent a lot of my hard earned cash on compact discs over the years, and their demise is a little sad. I'm cheered by the vinyl revival, however. It's a dear do, and Taylor Swift's latest album is retailing on HMV's website this week for £34.99, in a choice of colours including jade green, moonstone blue and mahogany.
Having a tangible product when it comes to music is perhaps coming back into fashion. I hope there is a place for both, and although I have only bought a handful of CDs in the last year, I'm glad to see they haven't vanished just yet. I also get mocked for renting DVDs by post, through a great service called Cinema Paradiso. Remember Lovefilm by Post? It's basically the same idea as that. Watch a movie, post it back, get another movie two days later (unless it's the weekend or the postal service is on strike).
When did you last buy a record? Let me know by e-mailing alex.cann@questmedianetwork.co.uk. Perhaps if you're young, you've never bought music. Either way, I'd like to wish you a happy New Year, and thanks as always for reading my ramblings.
You can listen to Alex every weekday from 7am to 11am and on the 'Super Scoreboard' show on Saturdays from 3pm to 7pm, on Tameside Radio 103.6FM.
Read more from the Tameside Reporter
Click here for more of the latest news
Click here to read the latest edition of the paper online
Click here to find out where you can pick up a copy of the paper
