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Proof that records aren't just for your hip Brooklyn friends

Vinyl is making a huge comeback.

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The RIAA, the association that represents the US recording industry, released its yearly report on Tuesday. The big news is that 2015 is officially the year that streaming took over.  

But much more interesting than that is a nugget buried at the end of the report: sales of vinyl LPs — yes, records — have reached the highest level in almost 30 years.

hipsters
Likely you'll find a record player owner among this group.
Adam Berry/Getty

In terms of value, the sale of vinyl LPs reached $416 million, the highest level since 1988. That figure is up a whopping 32% over last year.

This is especially interesting given that sales of physical media, like CDs, have been decreasing for years as people first turned to downloads and, more recently, to streaming.

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But vinyl has made a huge resurgence. Cary Sherman, the chairman and CEO of the RIAA, said that the industry sold 17 million vinyl albums last year, which accounted for more revenue than ad-supported streams from services like Spotify and Pandora.

So there you have it. What's old is indeed new again.

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