People are returning to vinyl albums as artists like Taylor Swift drive sales

Many thought the invention of the CD in the 1980s spelled the end for the clunky vinyl record but collectors young and old are embracing the vintage format.

Around the globe, vinyl sales are set to outstrip CDs this year, thanks in large part to Taylor Swift's new album 'Midnights' which broke international sales records.

According to Guinness, Midnights is the USA's fastest-selling vinyl album since sales tracking began in 1991. 575,000 copies of the album were sold in its first week, along with 395,000 CDs and 10,000 cassettes.

In October, the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) revealed that Midnights had the biggest first week of vinyl sales ever in Australia, with more than 10,000 copies sold.

Vinyl sales assistant at Melbourne's Rathdowne Records and Readings Carlton, Samuel La Marca, told ACM record collecting was a thriving trend.

"There's an obvious surge in younger customers and people getting back in to vinyl," he said.

"Aside from people thinking it's cool and in vogue, the material relationship to art is certainly driving it.

"People are wanting to actually have the object and put on the whole album and listen to it, and have the full experience of the album as the artist intended."

The sale of vinyl records has been rising in Australia in the past five years.

According to ARIA, vinyl album sales in Australia made up the biggest segment of physical music sales in 2021, at $29.7 million, compared with $24.9 million for CD albums.

At Wollongong's Music Farmers record store in NSW's Illawarra region, co-owner Jeb Taylor said younger buyers had impressively varied music taste.

"The younger generation has so much access to music so their taste is really varied," he said.

"They've got access to so much music but the albums they really like, they want to actually own, have the artwork, and have that actual listening experience."

Mr Taylor said their top selling vinyl's for 2022 were Taylor Swift's new album, Steve Lacey's album 'Gemini Rights' as well as some oldies like Pink Floyd and Fleetwood Mac.

He said the last few years had seen a notable surge in young people taking an interest in collecting records.

"Around 2011 or 2012, there was a big jump where most new releases were getting put on vinyl again and that kicked off a surge.

"And the next surge was 2019-20, around COVID lockdowns, these last few years, nostalgia has been a big thing. In troubled times, nostalgia always kick in," he said.

"For the younger crowd, they have grown up without any physical media and just having digital and not experiencing what the full album was. I think it's almost a reaction to that."

The pandemic may have accelerated younger people's music buying habits as lockdowns meant they were unable to attend gigs or music festivals and sought a physical connection to their favourite artists.

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"Australian artists like King Gizzard, Courtney Barnett, Tame Impala and Sampa the Great sell really well, because they're still touring, and taking the record home is like having a memory from when you saw them play," Mr La Marca from Rathdowne Records said.

"The love of music prevails in the end. having a physical relationship to that art makes you look deeper, you get to read the back cover and see all the different musicians that played on it, or maybe the artists has left a note to read while you listen,

"That's why the experience is more profound with the old plastic disks."