Independent record shop numbers rise to 10-year high

The number of independent record shops in the UK have risen to a 10-year high, according to an industry group.

Those were the days; when you’d lose a couple of hours just browsing through music, old and new, and buying some of the best songs created by great artists to add to your collection at home. Especially when the shop assistant seemed impressed by your music of choice and would even strike up a knowledgable conversation about it.

Well, despite the changes that come with technology and modern times, it seems independent stores have managed to brush aside the competition from streaming services, supermarkets and chains, according to the digital entertainment and retail association (ERA).

It confirmed there are now 461 indie record shops in the UK which is 122 more than there were 10 years ago. In contrast the total number of shops physically selling music in the UK has declined over the period from 10,391 to 2,486.

It means that indies have dramatically increased their share of a shrinking physical music market which now only accounts for 8% of overall music sales.

The ERA’s 2024 Yearbook, containing statistics on the music, video and gaming sectors, found that in 2014 indies represented just 3% of music outlets, whereas in 2023 they represented 23% of the total. It also revealed the UK music market was worth £2.2bn last year.

Jimmy Broklesby, 24, works at an independent music store in Frome, Somerset.

He told the BBC: “The sales of vinyl are pretty consistent and [have] obviously gone up for us over the few years. But in the week for us CDs are our predominant selling product.

“More of it gets released than I think people are aware of: reissues, anniversary editions, special variants, and all these kinds of things do bump up the quantity that we sell.”

He said the store gets many customers who’ve been buying vinyl since the 60s, but it also saw ‘a much younger crowd that are really into artists like Olivia Rodriguez and The 1975’.

Also speaking to the BBC was TikToker Bethan Currie, 28, who creates videos showing off her collection of vinyl records. On why she prefers to shop for music in this form, she said: “It’s not about just listening to music, it’s about the actual act of going out to find that album that you really want to find.

“There’s a really big vinyl collecting community on TikTok and it’s really lovely. I think it’s also a social thing, people want to show off what they’ve got and talk about music that they like on TikTok.”

ERA CEO Kim Bayley said: “In an entertainment market always full of surprises, this is in a class of its own. Despite largely being run by owner managers, indies have seen off competition from some of the largest and best-funded companies in the land. Indies have found their niche and they are here to stay.

“Couple this with the remarkable return of HMV, now back in its Oxford Street home, and it shows that despite the overwhelming success of music streaming, many music fans remain committed to the high street physical music buying experience.”

A key factor in the resilience of high street stores has been the vinyl revival. The ERA Yearbook reveals that vinyl sales reached £177.3m in the UK in 2023, nearly seven times higher than in 2014.

Ms Bayley added: “It was high street stores who first identified resurgent demand for vinyl and they have succeeded in holding on to a disproportionate share.”

A particular factor for indie stores has been the rise of Record Store Day, which is the annual celebration of indie record shop culture. It’s a national day controlled by indies themselves and run by ERA – with this year’s edition of Record Store Day taking place on Saturday April 20th.

Elsewhere, Barbie proved the most popular film to watch at home in 2023 with 770,000 retail and rental transactions. EA Sports FC 24 was the best-selling console game and The Highlights by The Weeknd was the biggest album of the year.

Other insights included:

• Video was the largest sector of entertainment, compared to gaming and music
• 82% of people who stream video on demand used Netflix
• Smartphones were the most common device for listening to music, overtaking in-car radio for the first time
• The best performing song of the year was Flowers by Miley Cyrus