One might think that the rise in vinyl sales would call for a corresponding rise in turntables. As it turns out, however, about half of vinyl LP buyers don’t own a record player, according to a recent study by the music sales data company Luminate (via Music Business Worldwide).

Luminate’s “Top Entertainment Trends for 2023” report found that of the 3,900 US-based respondents surveyed, “50% of consumers who have bought vinyl in the past 12 months own a record player, compared to 15% among music listeners overall.” So — feel free to double-check our math here — that would indicate that 50% of vinyl buyers over the past year have no way to play those records at home.

Luminate seems to credit these stats largely to “superfans,” who they define as “music listeners who spend above average (median) time AND money on music, actively discover new music, participate in music-related activities on social media, and plan