It has been announced today that Tesco will be tapping into the vinyl music scene by selling the new album by rock legends Iron Maiden.
With a release date of September 4, The Book of Souls triple LP will be sold in 55 of Tesco’s biggest Extra stores, with the potential to sell more vinyl albums by end of 2015.
Vinyl sales increased 50% year-on-year in 2014, with streaming being the other music growth with an increase of 78% in 2014, whilst CDs dropped 6.5% and downloads fell around 9%.
Michael Mulligan, Tesco music buyer said: “In the last year we began selling record decks in our largest stores and initial sales are very encouraging so giving our customers some new vinyl to play on those decks seems like the logical next step.
“Tesco is a team of over 500,000 people in 12 markets dedicated to providing the most compelling offer to our customers. Our core purpose is to make what matters better, together.
“And there can be no better way to launch this trial than working with one of rock music’s most iconic bands and their eagerly anticipated new album.
“We are anticipating demand for The Book of Souls to be high as Iron Maiden’s last album was the band’s most successful to date, reaching number one in 28 countries including the UK.
“If this trial is a success then we would consider selling more vinyl albums before the end of the year.”
Adding his comment, Dave Shack, Iron Maiden co-manager said: “It was a proud moment when the UK’s biggest supermarket created a landmark opportunity for us to present our fans with a one-stop shop for our brand new album & award winning Trooper beer.
“We have put a lot of energy into all our formats of the new record but the vinyl has to be one of the most impressive packages I have ever seen.
“It’s a triple gatefold sleeve housing six sides of premium 180g vinyl and incorporates some unique, quite spectacular artwork across the whole package – something that can only be done with vinyl due to the space this format offers.”
