The LP is an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia in 1948, it was adopted as a standard in the 1960s. Apart from a few enhancements, such as adding stereo sound, the LP remained dominant until the late 1980s, when the cassette tape took its position, then the CD in the late 1990s, and SACD in the late 2000s.
History(divergent)[]
After the LP's introduction in 1948, the music industry was skeptical about whether the LP would gain momentum. Slowly but surely, by 1963, LPs had become the dominant format of sound storage. By 1977, LP sales were at an all-time high, and after 1977, LP sales would fall.
By the late 1980s, LP sales were slumping as the cassette tape took over the reigns as the most popular sound storage medium, followed by the CD in 1998 and SACD in 2009. Similar to cassette tapes, while not officially discontinued, all major record labels stopped production and sales of LPs in 2013, the same year Betamax tapes were discontinued.
Despite that, a small niche market for LPs still exists, as some indie labels still rely on LPs.
Competitors and downfall[]
By the 1960s, most of the precursors to the LP had gone extinct, leaving the LP with a near total dominance of sound storage sales. Until the late 1970s, LPs had few competitors.
By 1978, cassette tape sales started to increase, as more people turned to this new form of technology. Also eating sales of LPs was the 8-track, a competitor to cassette tapes. However, 8-track sales never caught on in most markets.
In 1982, the CD was released, though it wouldn't be until 1998 that CDs became the best-selling audio format. Meanwhile, with consumers turning to higher quality audio, the SACD has hugely dominated sales from 2009 to now.
By 2001, LPs were no longer a profitable market. LP sales went under a million dollars for the first time in over 40 years, and from 2002 to 2013, most major record labels stopped producing LPs. By 2004, most retailers stopped selling LPs, with the remaining LPs being sold at their lowest prices ever.
Currently,LPs are mostly hard to find and come for expensive prices. The market remains niche with the declining sales.
Use by DJs[]
Until 2001, most disc jockeys used LPs for playing radio songs on radio stations. After CDs became mainstream, LPs stopped being used by disc jockeys for the most part, although two radio stations in West Virginia still use LPs for radio songs.