Vinyl sales have continued to rise in the UK despite the coronavirus crisis causing significant problems for other areas of the music industry.

According to the Official Charts Company, last month’s Record Store Day – the first of three socially distanced events scheduled for 2020 – resulted in a 3% rise in vinyl sales, with 2.7 million units sold so far this year.

The new figures come from the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA), who manage Record Store Day in the UK.

This continuing rise comes in spite of UK music retailers and record shops being forced to close their doors in March until June as a result of the national lockdown. During the intervening period, however, many stores set up delivery services or a click-and-collect option in a bid to survive.

Last month, Discogs’ mid-year report revealed that physical sales (vinyl, CD and cassette) rose by 29.69 per cent – 4,228,270 orders – on their website between January and June this year, compared to the same period in 2019.

Meanwhile, the second Record Store Day for this year is set to take place this coming Saturday (September 26), when fans will be able to get their hands on exclusive vinyl releases from the likes of Britney Spears, Declan McKenna, The Doors, Ellie Goulding, Fleetwood Mac, Nas, The Notorious B.I.G. and Tegan and Sara.

Next month’s edition will see new titles from Beck and St. Vincent, Def Leppard, Eminem, Suede, Lou Reed, The Rolling Stones, Snoop Dogg and Thin Lizzy. You can find a full breakdown of releases by date here, and locate your closest record store here.