Record Story Day 2014 was on Saturday, April 19. All sales figures are for the entire week, Monday-Sunday (week ending April 19, 2014) in the U.S.
"Record Store Day keeps shining the spotlight on the experience that Independent Record Stores uniquely brings to music fans," says David Bakula, SVP Client Development & Insights, Nielsen Entertainment. "Propelled by Record Store Day, Independent Record Stores had their highest weekly Physical Album share in SoundScan’s history. It has become a major music event that that compels artists to deliver premium content and drives music consumers to Independent Record Stores."
Independent record store album sales increases by year (sales percentage increase over the prior week):
§ 2014 (April 19, 2014): +91%
§ 2013 (April 20, 2013): +59%
§ 2012 (April 21, 2012): +27%
§ 2011 (April 16, 2011): +39%
§ 2010 (April 17, 2010): +12%
§ 2009 (April 18, 2009): +21%
§ 2008 (April 19, 2008): +0.4%
Independent Record Stores Highlights:
Ø Overall album sales (CD, LP, etc.) at Independent record stores were up 91% vs. the prior week and up 11% vs. the week of Record Store Day last year.
Ø Independent Record Stores represented 19.4% of the total national volume of all Physical Album sales this week. This is the highest share of Physical Album sales for the Independent stores since SoundScan started tracking sales by store strata.
Ø Vinyl LP sales at Independent record stores were up 280% vs. the prior week and up 58% vs. the week of Record Store Day last year. This is the most successful Record Store Day week for Vinyl LPs.
Ø Fueled by Record Store Day exclusives, Independent Record Stores represented 85% of the total national volume of Vinyl LPs this week. In 2013, Independent Record Stores sold 82% of the total national Vinyl LPs.
Ø This week represented the second-highest sales volume for the Independent Record Stores in a non-holiday week since 2008.
Recommended: What are the Beautiful Secrets Behind the Vinyl Records?
Vinyl Highlights:
Vinyl LP Sales increased 176% this week over last week at all stores.
Sales of 12” Vinyl exploded this week increasing more than 3,100% over last week, and up 113% over the same week last year.
Ø RSD 2014 is the most successful Record Store Day ever for vinyl with LP sales up 58% over the week of RSD 2013.
Ø Vinyl LPs accounted for 52% of all album sales (CD, LP, other album formats) at Independent record stores this week. The week of RSD 2013, LPs accounted for 37% of all album sales at Independent record stores.
Ø Of the top 50 Vinyl LPs in the U.S. this week, 43 titles were either exclusive Record Store Day releases, or were widely released for the first time this week.
Ø The top 50 Vinyl LPs combined to sell 35% more copies this week than during the week of Record Store Day in 2013.
Ø 68 different Vinyl LPs sold more than 1,000 copies this week, compared to 17 Vinyl LPs with exceeding 1,000 copies sold during the week of last year’s Record Store Day.
Ø YTD Vinyl LP sales are now up 36% vs. the same period last year and are on pace to exceed last year’s record-high volume.
Billboard’s Top Vinyl LPs for the week ending 4/20/2014
1. Childish Gambino/Because the Internet
2. Afghan Whigs/Do To the Beast
3. Notorious B.I.G./Life After Death
4. Bruce Springsteen/American Beauty
5. Jimi Hendrix/Live at Monterey
6. Grateful Dead/Live at Hampton Colliseum
7. Tame Impala/Live Versions
8. Joy Division/An Ideal For Living
9. Flaming Lips/7 Skies H3
10. Ramones/Meltdown With the Ramones
Billboard’s Top Vinyl Singles for the week ending 4/20/2014
1. Nirvana/Pennyroyal Tea
2. Flaming Lips & Devo/Gates of Steel
3. The Cure/Just Like Heaven
4. David Bowie/1984
5. Love/Rush / 7 and 7 is
6. Frank Zappa/Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow
7. Pantera/Poison Idea/Side By Side: The Badge
8. Paramore/Ain’t It Fun
9. Fleetwood Mac/Dragonfly
10. Garbage/Girls Talk S**t
Source: Nielsen SoundScan
