What is the actual percentage of people exclusively listening to vinyl vs digital?

@chakster 

I’m talking about lazy audiophiles and 90% of the a’gon members are over 60, they are often complaining that it’s too complicated for them to flip vinyl record while they are listening to music, and “clicks and pops” are so annoying for them, so they discovered better format and this format is CD (sensational news).

Again, I think you are over-gereralizing. I’m 63. Many in my age group left vinyl completely by the 90’s and went to primarily CD’s, and then to streaming. It was a natural progression, and most didn’t want to reinvest in a turntable rig after 30 years. Some, as I, did. But that has nothing to do with laziness, just how the music media changed and also what the manufacturers were concentrating on. When CD’s were released, and I went to a high end audio shop back then, believe me, they were pushing CD players, not turntables. That was the future, and that is what they were pushing.

Its a shame, but that was just the reality.

@chakster

I don’t think this thread is about the qualities of vinyl vs digital. I already stated my listening is at least 85% vinyl. I made my decision, as have you.

the question was, what percentage of *people* (not audiophiles) who listen to music listen exclusively analog vs digital. As I said, folks as us are a very small percentage of all music listeners. But, I have no idea what that percentage is. You?

Good luck finding an official number.

I ‘left’ LP’s about 35 years ago for the most part too.

Two years ago, dove back into vinyl out of curiosity, and now, I would say at least 85% of my listening is via vinyl, and also have a Nak cassette deck I use occasionally. Thank goodness I kept most all my LP’s. I also have many CD’s, and at times, play those as well, but rarely if ever, mix LP and CD listening. I rarely stream, but do subscribe to Tidal.

I would have to say I, and others like me, are a very small percentage of all folks, (who listen to music), do so 80-100% via pure analog sources. I would imagine even a small percentage of all ‘audiophiles’.

But, how many have a turntable in their set-up, but only use it 5-10% of the time? Even that number is probably very low for *all* music listeners.

Has turntable and LP sales increased? Yes, sure, but what are we comparing that to? CD sales have also plummeted, probably as much as LP’s did during the 80-90’s.

Bottom line, most *all* music listeners are not buying albums at all anymore, in any format. Most all are streaming various music via a streaming service.

That certainly isn’t me. I still buy LP’s, CD’s, and even an occasional cassette. I just ‘have to’ have a physical medium. I ‘have to’ own my music in a tangible way. That’s how I grew up in the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and beyond.

@millercarbon 

Well, the question was analog, not vinyl. But your answer is probably still close to correct.

Now, the other half of the question. I’m sure we don’t know that either. But I bet it is a fairly large percentage of *all people*.

@chakster

Convenience is important when you’re old

Ummmm.....I’m ‘old’. I think you you might be over generalizing, just a tad.

Now, my mother is 86, has some physical ailments that make is very hard for her to get around, even to get out of her chair, and into another, or a car, or her bed. But that has nothing to do with laziness. It is much more convenient for her to have digital sources for her use in all forms. And she does. It makes her life much easier than it may have been 30-40 years ago.

Could that happen to me too? Sure it could, and I do think about that, and what that could mean in continuing my audio journey in years to come. At that point, should the same happen, I may also have to also forego my love for analog physical medium too in order to continue to enjoy my music. But that won’t be because of laziness or convenience as a choice, but rather a necessity.

I guarantee that the vast majority of ‘young people’ are only using digital sources as well. And even among them, turntables and LP use is still a small percentage of all those who listen to music. It may be growing, sure, but at what percentage? It isn’t like when I was young, and if you listened to music, you had to have a turntable and records.