Only 12.8% of independent artists are releasing vinyl despite rise in physical sales
Vinyl production costs are still too high for most independent musicians.
April 16, 2024
Global music distribution & label services company Ditto Music has found that only 12.8% of independent musicians have released their music on vinyl, despite Record Store Day 2024 being on course to boost indie retailers by almost £10m this weekend.
Ditto’s survey of 1,000 independent artists discovered that the main reason for artists not releasing vinyl was that production costs were too high (54.4%). Other factors included fan bases not being interested in vinyl products (28.7%) and production times being too long (9.9%).
Key results of the survey can be seen in the graph below:
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Survey results found that the likeliness of artists having released vinyl increases with age. Only 8% of those aged between 0-17 have released vinyl, but figures rise to 20.5% for 45-54 year-olds and 34.4% for artists aged 50 and above.
Ditto's findings also show that only 8% of rap artists have released music on vinyl. These figures jump to 13.8% for alternative acts and 14.9% for rock artists.
Even with recent surges in UK vinyl sales, digital streaming remains highly popular among independent artists. 44.9% stated that they haven't ever purchased a vinyl product as they prefer to digitally stream music. To find out how much artists can earn from digitally releasing their music, check out the Ditto Music Royalty Calculator.
For more information about Ditto's findings and to learn more about its services, head to dittomusic.com or reach out to press@dittomusic.com.
