Did vinyl sales just hit the proverbial brick wall?

@edcyn: The size of the Tahoe is exactly why I bought it; I use it to haul my drums to gigs. For awhile I had it AND my old '84 BMW 528e, but by 2008 it's parts had started to regularly wear out, and BMW parts aren't cheap. I didn't want to sink anymore dough into it, and sold it to the State of California for a grand.

@bdp24 When I lived in L.A. (my proverbial old home town), I had a succession of Three Series BMWs. All with manual transmissions. Loved 'em.' One of them purchased at the factory and used to cruise through Europe. And yes, it wasn't difficult at all to load an electric guitar, amp, etc.,into the car for jam sessions (I'd be too embarrassed to call them genuine gigs). Yeah, yawn... Another Beemer adding to the SoCal crush.

Wow. Yes, so I actually read the entire article, and again...wow. The responses to this misinformed individual have pretty much already been made, either in his original article or here in this forum. Talk about apples and oranges. The two most interesting points I garnered from the reading were first, the only categories where  increases were made was cassettes (very nominal) and (Surprise Surprise!) vinyl records. The overall decline I would assume is mostly from streaming. Seems a great way to introduce yourself to an artist or genre. However to this point recorded music has always been a 'possessive' endeavor (for me anyway). My generation 'streamed' AM radio in the beginning, and then FM. You couldn't get the material on demand, but you were guaranteed to hear it again in an hour or so. Younger X's, Z's and millennial's choose to spend their resources on other things (like $8 cups of coffee). They are generally much more mobile and less interested in purchasing things like homes or diamonds. Kudos to them all. I've been buying records for going on 60 years. Wasn't a sealed one in the more than 4K examples. However in the late 80's and early 90's I began to purchase multiple copies of popular artists like REM, U2, Nirvana, Soul Asylum, etc. and left them sealed. Since retirement I have been very fortunate to recoup my investments, ten fold and more. My second observation is that no one has even mentioned CONDITION when espousing on the pros and cons of used records. Always took very good care of my vinyl, running most less than 'perfect' pressings back to the retail outlet for an exchange. And yes, most are still in NM/M- condition. Whether from the 60's or 2K, my asking prices reflect this. As I watched what 'collectible' records started selling for 40 years gone, I weathered the "just take 'em to Goodwill" pressure of this time period. Happy now, supplements my paltry retirement and Social Security payments today. Peace and enjoy the music as it was meant to be heard. AB      

The resurgence of vinyl the last 10-15 years has largely been, “millennials,” and now, “Gen Z.”
Ditto for the cassette thing. Hilarious.
There was a different fella than normal, a younger fella behind the desk at one of the record stores I frequented almost daily a few years back, and he told me, “I only listen to cassettes.” I didn’t know if he was serious at first. He was indeed serious, as I eventually realized after (barely) stifling my laughter.
It is bound to bottom out as vinyl’s damn expensive, people have crap  for money, and kids realize how much easier and cheaper it is to just stream.
Then it might make a “comeback” again.
There’s not much to see here.
It survived the ‘90s and ‘00s.
 

There's a simpler explanation for slowing vinyl sales - inflation and the crunch in tech jobs. Vinyl records are a luxury purchase and an easy casualty when people's real spending power is decreased.