Vinyl record buyers are old and lonely, says new study

Vinyl record buyers are old and lonely, says new study - CNET

You might assume millennials are the ones lining up on Record Store Day to drop coin on the latest special edition, 180-gram, splatter-paint record of the month, but you'd be wrong -- at least in the United Kingdom.

According to a new study by market research company YouGov, UK music fans between the ages of 45 and 54 are actually more likely to hit record stores in search of vinyl. By contrast, the study found 18- to 24-year-olds are least likely to purchase vinyl, suggesting last year's sales explosion could be attributed to vinyl nostalgia rather than discovery.

The study also unearthed two very bleak statistics that are depressing enough to make any collector reconsider this hobby: 56 percent of vinyl buyers tend to keep their feelings to themselves and 69 percent would rather listen to music alone than with a partner.

It's worth noting YouGov's findings are based on a sample of UK adults only. A separate study conducted in the US last year showed half of vinyl buyers stateside are under 25.

And if DJ Potus's summer playlists are any indication of what older people are listening to, there might still be hope for the digital generation yet.