Vinyl Record Day: the ‘cracker’ market grows and keeps the format alive

Vinyl Record Day is celebrated on April 20th in Brazil, an object of musical reproduction that has once again become appreciated all over the world.

The date was created in 1978 by record collectors to honor Ataulfo ​​Alves on the occasion of the samba singer’s tenth birthday.

Born in Miraí, in the Zona da Mata of Minas Gerais, Ataulfo ​​Alves “belongs to an elite of composers who established samba as a musical genre,” according to a description in the “Cravo Albin Dictionary of Brazilian Popular Music.”

The composer from Minas Gerais (right in the photo) wrote famous sambas such as “Ai que saudades da Amélia” (with Mario Lago) and “Na Cadência do Samba” (with Paulo Gesta).

Sales of “bolachões” – vinyl’s affectionate nickname – have increased in recent years, which keeps the format alive even in a world taken over by streaming services.

According to the American Recording Industry Association (RIAA), more than 43 million vinyl records were sold in 2023, with revenues of $1.4 billion (R$7.2 billion at current prices).

These numbers exceed the sales of CDs (Compact Discs) by six million, a format that emerged in the late 1980s as a successor to vinyl.

Again according to the RIAA survey, this was the second consecutive year of growth in the global vinyl record market.

In the UK, 2023 was the 16th consecutive year of increases in vinyl album sales, according to data from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

Analysis carried out by BPI shows that new vinyl releases by artists such as Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift and the Rolling Stones appeared at the top of sales, highlighting that consumption is not just linked to old and cult albums.

Almost half of the list of best-selling vinyl albums in the UK in 2023 are releases from the last two years.

This phenomenon is also reproduced in Brazil. A report by the entity Pró-Música Brasil published on March 21 showed a 136% growth in vinyl sales in the country in 2023. Total revenue was R$11 million.

In terms of physical format, vinyl sales have surpassed those of CDs and DVDs, according to the association that brings together Brazil’s largest record companies.

Although it represents only 0.6% of the Brazilian music industry’s revenue – 87% comes from streaming platforms – the data shows a growing interest in the physical format.

The vinyl record as we know it today was developed in 1930 by a Hungarian-born American engineer named Peter Carl Goldmark.

The plastic record replaced the so-called 78 rpm record, or shellac record, invented by the German Ermil Berliner together with the gramophone (mechanical record player).

Vinyl arrived in Brazil only at the beginning of the 1950s, two decades after its appearance in the United States and European countries.

In January 1951, the Sinter record label was a pioneer in the country when it released a ten-inch LP called “Carnaval em ‘long Playing'”, which collected recordings for that year’s Carnival.

The 1960s marked the beginning of the production of 12-inch LPs, which had a major cultural impact.

The resurgence of vinyl in recent years is attributed to several factors, such as the artistic experience afforded by the format, the visual appeal of covers and inserts, the quality of the sound, and collector groups.