How the vinyl revival fills the gaps streaming left behind
Global vinyl sales have risen for 19 consecutive years, reaching $2.1 billion in 2025, driven by cultural and emotional connections to physical music. While streaming dominates access, vinyl offers tangible experiences, ritual, and community across different regions. From India to Brazil, new pressing plants and reissues are reviving forgotten music and enabling younger generations to engage with analog formats.
- ▪Global vinyl sales reached $2.1 billion in 2025 and are projected to grow to $3.6 billion by 2034.
- ▪In the U.S., vinyl sales surpassed $1 billion in 2025, with Gen Z leading the trend for analog music consumption.
- ▪In Japan and South Korea, buying vinyl grants fans access to events and voting rights, reinforcing artist loyalty.
- ▪Brazil reopened its first vinyl pressing plant in 2011, allowing reissues of music never released on streaming platforms.
- ▪India's first vinyl pressing plant in four decades opened in Mumbai in August 2024.
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Global Dispatch How the vinyl revival fills the gaps streaming left behind As global sales climb, the reasons people buy records diverge sharply across cultures. By Indranil Ghosh Indranil Ghosh is the Middle East and Africa Editor at Rest of World, based in Abu Dhabi. 1 May 2026 iStock/Rest of World iStock/Rest of World By Indranil Ghosh 1 May 2026 Global Dispatch How the vinyl revival fills the gaps streaming left behind By Indranil Ghosh > Global Dispatch This essay was first published in our Global Dispatch newsletter. Sign up here to get it straight to your inbox. When I took my son to Mirza Ghalib Street in Kolkata to find Bollywood soundtracks for his new turntable, I was struck by the economics of our mission.
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