Everyone's gone crazy about the vinyl chart - but purists are unimpressed

Indie labels see it as an irrelevance in the era of social media, believing those who will benefit most are major record companies

A collector examines an album before playing it on a turntable at the Musicmania Record Fair at Olympia Exhibition Centre in London (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

The announcement on Sunday that a new vinyl chart would be launched by the Official Charts Company was met with applause by music fans and the media, but many independent label owners and vinyl purists have been left underwhelmed by the news.

In recent years, sales of vinyl records have soared, with singles hitting a 20-year high in 2014.

The Official Charts Company, which compiles the UK sales charts, have introduced a weekly vinyl chart to reflect this growing trend, as well as to signify the build up to Record Store Day on 18 April.

Gennaro Castaldo of the BPI, the British music industry's trade association, said the vinyl chart "will help guide a new generation of younger, but emotionally-engaged, fans as they contemplate the vinyl delights that await them.”

But many label owners and vinyl fans aren't convinced.

Sales of vinyl records have seen a huge spike, with sales of vinyl singles reaching a 20-year high in 2014 (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Sean Price is the head of Fortuna Pop, a London-based DIY record label that he set up in 1995 and runs in his spare time. He isn't convinced that the new chart will do much to help artists, labels, or the popularity of vinyl.

"It's a nice idea, but it's obviously been driven by the big companies."

"I don't imagine there would be much representation from the indies, and I don't think it'll do anything in terms of exposure for the artists anyway."

The charts themselves have faced a fall in popularity in recent years - with the death of Top of the Pops and The Chart Show before it, as well as the rise of the internet and social media in word-of-mouth music promotion, the only way to easily find out what's in the charts is to go to the Official Chart Company's website.

"How many people even pay attention to the charts anymore?", Price continued.

"People used to huddle over the radio with their cassette recorder when the charts came on, and they'd talk about all the songs with their friends the next day. That just doesn't happen any more."

"I suspect it's not going to make much difference to smaller labels like mine."

His comments were echoed by David West, co-founder of Art is Hard, a label based in the South West that releases music on CD, vinyl, download and even cassette.

He said: "Charts started before the internet, and they've been popular because they were the best way to find new music. That's just not how it works any more."

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American pop-punk band All Time Low, seen here playing at Wembley Stadium, are currently number 1 in the brand new UK vinyl album chart (Gus Stewart/Redferns via Getty Images)

The general feeling from labels and vinyl fans is that the new chart is an irrelevance, and in the era of social media, super-limited indie vinyl pressings, and an increasingly vibrant DIY scene of people running labels from their bedrooms, the people who will benefit the most will be major record companies.

But the reception from the small labels - that are increasingly setting industry trends - hasn't all been bad.

Jack Clothier, the founder of Oxford-based Alcopop! Records, welcomed the introduction of the chart.

He said: "I think it's a really nice idea. There's always going to be the Jack Whites and the Noel Gallaghers who'll dominate the chart, but it's also a good way for smaller artists to get their stuff out there."

Amongst other unusual pressings, Alcopop! once released an edition of discs which contained a ground-up meteorite that crashed to earth in the 16th Century. Clothier bought the meteorite on eBay, and the pressing plant was more than happy to put it into the plastic.

He says this kind of thought and attention that goes into record production is a reason for the old-fashioned format's resurgence.

"Streaming and MP3s are great, but there's a real pleasure in owning a very physical and special record that you can appreciate in ways that go beyond the music."

The vinyl chart certainly reflects a growing trend in how we consume music, but according to the people who really know their vinyl, it's not all it's cracked up to be.