The Taylor Swift effect: US vinyl sales top $1bn for the first time since 1983

"For the first time in over four decades, US vinyl sales have topped $1bn in annual revenue. Vinyl purchases reached $1.04bn in 2025, per a new report by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) published on 16 March. It marks the 19th consecutive year of growth for the format that was once considered a niche interest."

"The explosive resurgence of vinyl has been led by Taylor Swift's canny marketing of the format as a collectible. Her 2025 album The Life of a Showgirl was last year's bestselling vinyl release, with 1.6m vinyl sales alone. Swift released a total of eight vinyl variants of The Life of a Showgirl with alternate cover artwork and LP colors."

"As well as vinyl, Swift's embrace of CD, cassette and digital download formats helped The Life of a Showgirl shatter music records upon its release. The singer released at least 34 variants of the album in total. The album racked up 4.002m US sales in its opening week in the highest ever first week sales recorded for an album."

US vinyl sales reached $1.04 billion in 2025, marking the first time in over four decades that the format surpassed this milestone. The format achieved 46.8 million unit sales, representing 7.9% growth from 2024. Vinyl now significantly outperforms CDs, which generated $312.4 million, and other physical formats like cassettes at $25.8 million. Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl dominated vinyl sales with 1.6 million copies sold, featuring eight vinyl variants with alternate artwork and exclusive content. Swift's multi-format strategy across vinyl, CD, cassette, and digital releases created 34 total album variants, achieving record-breaking 4.002 million first-week US sales. Other top vinyl sellers included Sabrina Carpenter, Kendrick Lamar, and Billie Eilish, while classic albums like Fleetwood Mac's Rumours remained popular vinyl purchases.

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