Sainsbury’s bets on the vinyl revival with its own record label

Helped by big-name retailers like HMV, Tesco and Sainsbury's, vinyl has seen a big revival in the UK. Based on Official Charts Company data, over 3.2 million vinyls were purchased last year alone, reaching heights not seen since 1991. It's a trend that doesn't seem to be dying off, especially given the news that Sainsbury's has today launched it's very own music label. From Friday November 3rd, the supermarket will stock two vinyl compilation albums from its new Own Label imprint, with help from Universal and Warner Music.

The two 20 track double albums -- named Hi Fidelity - A Taste Of Stereo Sound and Coming into Los Angeles – A Taste of West Coast -- collate classic hits from the 60s/70s and feature acts like Fleetwood Mac, The Doobie Brothers, Roxy Music, Elton John and Cat Stevens, as well as some lesser known musicians. They've been put together by Bob Stanley, a journalist and author who is best known for co-founding dance group Saint Etienne.

Sainsbury's will stock the records in 160 superstores around the country, but is limiting the run to 1,500 units. It's already sold almost 300,000 albums since it began stocking vinyl records early last year, so it shouldn't have any trouble shifting a small first-run of releases.