2021 Tyler, The Creator Album Tops Billboard Chart Thanks To Record-Breaking Vinyl Sales

Topline

Tyler, The Creator’s 2021 album Call Me If You Get Lost topped this week’s Billboard 200 chart, an achievement that was fueled by record-breaking vinyl record sales after the album became available to purchase physically earlier this month.

Key Facts

Call Me If You Get Lost, which was released in June of last year, sold 49,500 vinyl LPs last week.

It’s the largest sales week for a hip-hop album on vinyl since data became available in 1991, according to Billboard.

The vinyls are only sold on Tyler’s website, Billboard noted, and are not available through any major retailers.

On last week’s Billboard 200, which tracks the commercial success of albums, Call Me If You Get Lost ranked 120th.

Big Number

114,000. That’s how many vinyl LPs were sold during the biggest vinyl sales week ever, in November 2021 when Taylor Swift released Red (Taylor’s Version), according to Billboard.

Key Background

Vinyl record sales have been steadily increasing for over a decade, according to Variety and Billboard. Kid Cudi previously held the hip-hop vinyl record, selling ​​41,500 records of Man on the Moon III: The Chosen in December, according to Billboard. In 2021, revenues from vinyl sales increased 61% from 2020 to $1 billion, according to data from the Recording Industry Association of America. The last time vinyl sales crossed $1 billion was in 1986. Vinyl sales accounted for 7% of 2021’s total music revenue. Though vinyl was more popular last year, CD sales also increased. In 2021, one out of every three albums sold were vinyl records, according to MRC Data, Billboard reported.

Further Reading

Vinyl Sales Soar — and Even CDs Rebound — as U.S. Recorded Music Industry Posts $15 Billion Year-End Revenue (Variety)

1 Out of Every 3 Albums Sold in the US in 2021 Were Vinyl LPs (Billboard)

Vinyl Release Pushes Tyler, the Creator’s ‘Call Me If You Get Lost’ Back to No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart (Billboard)

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2022/04/25/2021-tyler-the-creator-album-tops-billboard-chart-thanks-to-record-breaking-vinyl-sales/