Belgium's independent record shops celebrate Record Store Day on Saturday, with music lovers and collectors invited to visit stores to discover albums released to mark the occasion, which is being held in several countries. Around thirty record shops are taking part.
This year, the Flemish electro-punk band Compact Disk Dummies has been appointed ambassador of the event in Belgium. Purchases at participating record stores will entitle you to a limited edition record by the Desselgem-based duo.
The focus of this new edition has been on vinyl, a cultural product with a sweet nostalgic flavour that has seen a strong comeback in recent years. Vinyl sales even surpassed CD sales in the US in 2022. In Belgium, the two media are neck and neck according to the latest figures from the Belgian Recorded Music Association (BRMA).
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In 2021, vinyl accounted for 44.37% of fixed media sold, compared to 48% for CDs. In total, the sale of black discs brought in no less than 8.69 million euros in Belgium in 2021, a record in recent years and a 78% increase in turnover in one year. And it seems that LP fans have lost none of their love for this vintage medium in 2022.
“2022 was another exceptional year for vinyl. This unique music medium continues to consolidate its position in the physical market year after year thanks to a loyal and growing audience,” stresses Olivier Vandeputte director of BRMA.
Despite these encouraging figures, streaming still accounts for 75% of the total music turnover in Belgium and took in 68.27 million euros in 2021. As for independent record shops, they are becoming increasingly rare, although no official census quantifies the phenomenon in Wallonia and Brussels.
