Vinyl is making a resurgence across Australia as record sales and stores continue to grow, demonstrating that physical music is alive and well.
Vinyl has shown yet another increase according to last year’s ARIA’s wholesale and sale statistics, for physical and digital music sold across Australia.
Newtown’s Repressed Records co-owner Nic Warnock told Central News that the form of vinyl listening is a consumption choice that combats music streaming.
“It’s kind of like a signifier of the type of person that people are….we all do that in our consumption choices,” Mr Warnock said.
“There is an organic shift of people wanting to get off streaming things that become staples. That could be those must-have records to people that maybe only want one box of records in their life.”
Australian vinyl revenue in 2025 saw a 4.1 per cent increase, with over 1.2 million vinyls sold in the country.
According to the Victorian Music Development Office, Melbourne was recorded as the city with the highest record store density, with 88 stores, averaging out as 5.9 stores per 100,000 residents.
Although vinyl stores have seen an increase, Wollongong’s Music Farmers co-owner Jeb Taylor said record shops have tried to stay relevant by combining other types of businesses.
“Whether they’re bookshops, antique shops, music instrument shops, that’s probably been increased more as it’s a specialist kind of shop if you’re just doing records…you can probably do more with less in that set up,” Mr Taylor said.
ARIA also came out with the top vinyl albums last year, showing Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter are in the lead alongside other mainstream artists.
Mr Taylor said that the popularity of the pop genre has drawn in a new generation of vinyl lovers.
“The last year or two there’s probably been a little spike…it’s been more to do with some of the big pop records doing well over the last few years,” he said.
Events such as Record Store Day last month highlight the recognition of independent record shops and Mr Taylor said it’s always one of their busiest periods.
“Its a good day for awareness of shops and records,” Mr Taylor said.
“The last five years have become a lot more about the special releases and people lining up for them, and there’s always still the community side for it.”
Music streaming such as Spotify and Apple Music are seen as the future of listening.
Current data however, suggests that the past method of needle and disc has returned in the music ecosystem across Australia.
Additional reporting: Caleb Arkapaw and Thomas Panayiotou
