Despite cynics insisting that the so-called ‘vinyl revival’ is merely a fad which has hit its peak and will soon begin to shrink, Billboard reported earlier this year that vinyl sales are actually up by a staggering 38.4 percent.
When Nielsen Music unveiled their mid-year report, revealing the year’s most successful artists, albums, and singles, it showed a continued surge for vinyl. Sales rose to an almost 40 percent increase on 2014, with 5.6 million units moved so far this year.
It’s little wonder then that everybody’s looking to get their own piece of the vinyl pie. It’s not just your local independent record store that’s putting strain on pressing plants around the world, multi-national corporations want some action too.
So what’s the latest outlet looking to cash in on the vinyl revival? None other than Aldi. Yes, that Aldi. The German discount supermarket chain will become a record store for one day this month.
According to Aldi’s Australian website, the Special Buy for Wednesday, 11th November will be a selection of vinyl records, including iconic releases from The Beatles, Elton John, Cat Stevens, The Rolling Stones, and uh, Katy Perry.
The records are priced at $24.99 each, which is rather steep when you consider the fact that you could easily find these records far cheaper second-hand at your favourite local brick-and-mortar record shop.
The Aldi website also warns that stocks are limited, will vary between stores, and in the case of unexpectedly high demand, Aldi reserve the right to limit purchases to “reasonable quantities”. Prices are also subject to change.
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No doubt the hipster set will have a thing or two to say about this, as Aldi’s entry into the vinyl market cements the fact that vinyl is no longer just a niche beloved by proud crate-diggers and is now officially mainstream again.
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It’s not Aldi’s first push into the music market. As Tone Deaf reported back in September, the supermarket giant have announced a partnership with Napster to launch their very own streaming service.
Aldi Life Musik utilises the catalog of Napster’s online music store, which boasts some 34 million songs, more than Tidal and equal to Spotify, though less than Apple Music and Deezer, as well as 10,000 audiobooks.
According to Fairfax, however, the service, which costs €7.99 (A$12.88) per month, is so far only available in Germany and Aldi Australia have told Fairfax, “At this stage, we have no plans to launch a music streaming service.”
