Record Store Day is vinyl extravaganza

VINYL LOOMS LARGE AT INDIE RETAIL: Album sales year to date (89.836 million) are virtually flat over last year (90.016m), according to Nielsen SoundScan, but vinyl album sales are up 9% this year to date (1,159,000) over YTD 2011 (1,068,000). That’s cause for celebration at indie record stores (and what other kind are there these days?), which account for the majority of vinyl sales. In 2011, 67% of all vinyl album purchases were made over the counters of indie record stores, and when these stores open for business on Saturday for this year’s Record Store Day, they will have already accounted for 68% of total U.S. vinyl album sales sold this year through March 18. Record Store Day, which launched in San Francisco in 2008, has become a global phenomenon that generates significant revenue for independent record stores. Album sales the week of Record Store Day have seen significant gains at the indies, with sales the week of the 2011 Record Store Day 39% higher than the week before. (4/19a)