Physical music is on the comeback despite the continued growth of music streaming and could help regrow the high street.

Iconic UK music retailer HMV are considering expansion. Following a fantastic year of growth in physical sales – aiding overall growth for UK music revenues – the high street is looking a little more appealing.

The death of the high street for music has come from two directions. Firstly, digital music has taken over music consumption diminishing physical sales. Then online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay have hindered the in-person shopping of high streets massively.

So it’s especially good news that HMV’s Managing Director is discussing plans to expand their shops. The retailer already operates around 120 stores across the UK. The retailer survived its second large collapse in 2019 thanks to investment from Sunrise Records.

Their considerations follow a great 2023 for physical music. Even the long-dying CDs slowed down their decline in unit sales and actually saw growth of revenues last year. Last month it was revealed that vinyl sales had reached their highest point since 1990.

Are CDs coming back?

HMV’s Managing Director Phil Halliday commented on the resurgence of physical, saying: “Based on the numbers of customers buying turntables, we don’t expect that to fall any time soon as new fans build their collections.” On the unexpected rise of CDs, he points towards “the rise in interest in J-pop and K-pop fandom in the UK, because it’s the main physical format for both genres”.

Halliday notes caution however, saying that “the timing and the economics have to be right” to open new branches. Whilst they have a large presence in the UK, he adds that “there are definitely some cities that we want to be in where there isn’t yet an HMV but the timing and the economics have to be right.”

HMV report plans to enter Continental Europe. Halliday explains: “We opened a first store in Antwerp to test the market in October last year and that’s been going well, so we will look at growth.”

It might not be enough to simply rely on the resurfacing popularity of their stock, though. Dr Michael Heller at Brunel Business School explains the shop’s difficulties weren’t just thanks to competition from streaming. He claims that they failed “to capture and hold on to a young demographic which I’m not sure has resolved”.

Rough Trade plan to open their sixth UK store this year. The new record shop will open in Liverpool and will be their largest, including its biggest venue space.