There’s less than 300 of them left but, despite facing heavy competition from digital sales, large high street chains and internet piracy, independent record shops have enjoyed a boost in the first half of 2013.
According to a report by the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA), sales have gone up by 44 per cent compared to the same period last year.
The statistics also reveal the difference in purchasing habits when compared to the rest of the recorded music market. Independent shops only account for 3.2 per cent of all album sales, but during the period they were responsible for more than half of all the vinyl purchases - with approximately one in seven album purchases from an independent record shop being on vinyl.
According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, sales of vinyl are in rude health, with 12 million being sold last year – four times that of 2006.
The type of music being sold in independent shops also differs from that of stores such as Amazon and HMV. David Bowie’s The Next Day is currently the biggest-selling album for independent shops – but is only 15th overall. Whereas the second biggest is Tomorrow’s Harvest by Boards of Canada, which is a mere 218th when factoring in sales across the whole market.
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