Vinyl and subscription music service sales both more than doubled in 2014 in Australia, slightly alleviating the downward trend for overall music sales last year according to ARIA‘s wholesale figures for 2014.
Vinyl sales in Australia grew to $6.4 million in 2014, up 101.78 percent, while income from subscription services stands at $23 million, representing an increase of 127 percent, renewing hopes that consumers are more willing to subscribe to a fairly priced music consumption medium or invest in traditional forms, rather than downloading illegally.
While overall music sales still decreased by 9.62 per cent, due to a drop in physical CD albums, digital albums, tracks and music videos/DVDs, that decline was not as drastic as last year’s 11.6 per cent drop, signalling that vinyl and streaming sales contributed to at least some kind of turnaround in Australia’s otherwise dwindling music sales figures.
“It is an exciting time, as the consumption of music grows through an ever-expanding range of options – whether through subscription services, digital downloads or visiting the local record store to buy vinyl,” said ARIA CEO Dan Rosen.
According to ARIA, the trend towards music consumption via streaming services is likely to continue in 2015, mirroring a global trend, with new services from Apple and YouTube’s Music Key set to enter the market.
Another encouraging aspect from the 2014 figures according to ARIA is the success of Australian artists. Seven of the top 20 best selling albums in 2014 were Australian acts, 18 of last year’s top 100 singles were by Australians as well as 36 of the top 100 albums.
“Our goal as an industry is to make it easier for music fans to support the artists they love by developing innovative new ways to sell music,” added Rosen. “The continued growth in the subscription market shows that the local music industry is leading the way in streaming digital content”
“The remarkable success of Australian artists in 2014 is exciting news for the future as the music from our home-grown talent is enjoyed by music fans here and around the world,” said Rosen.
