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Drop the needle on “Money, Money, Money,” sales of vinyl records eclipsed $1 billion in 2025 for the first time ever.
According to a report from RIAA, vinyl sales have grown for 19 consecutive years, with 2025 seeing a 9% increase over 2024. About 50% of all global vinyl revenue comes from the US, with about 49.9% of that coming from special-edition Taylor Swift LPs offering no new songs.
OK that last part I made up, but here’s a real fact that’s almost as mind-blowing: According to Luminate, Swift led all vinyl sales with over 1.6 million copies of The Life of a Showgirl, and nobody else was even close. Sabrina Carpenter came second with around 292,000 for Man’s Best Friend, while Kendrick Lamar placed third with 272,000 sales of GNX. Taylor Swift outsold everyone else in the Top 10 combined.
Not to beat a dead horse — or a live showgirl, for that matter — but I’m not sure the casual music fan understands to what extent Swift has outpaced every other musician on the planet. I sold zero copies of vinyl this year (in my defense, I’m off-cycle), and second-place Carpenter is much closer to me than she is Swift. Maybe the world of music needs to retire the plural word “superstars,” because right now it’s hard to argue that there’s more than one.
There are a few other interesting tidbits in the RIAA report. The amount spent on all forms of music also rose in 2025, reaching a total of $11.5 billion. The lion’s share comes from digital subscriptions, with monthly bills to Spotify and Apple and all the rest adding up to $6.4 billion. Oh, and Spotify is increasing rates this year, so expect more records in 2026.
Just for fun, check out the top 10 vinyl sales of 2025 below.
01. Taylor Swift — The Life of a Showgirl — 1,601,000
02. Sabrina Carpenter Man’s Best Friend – 292,000
03. Kendrick Lamar GNX – 279,000
04. Sabrina Carpenter Short n’ Sweet – 262,000
05. Billie Eilish Hit Me Hard and Soft – 192,000
06. Fleetwood Mac Rumours – 190,000
07. Michael Jackson Thriller – 182,000
08. The Weeknd Hurry Up Tomorrow – 178,000
09. Taylor Swift Lover (Live From Paris) – 166,000
10. Tyler, the Creator Igor – 166,000
English (US) · 