Music is changing the way the United Kingdom tracks the cost of living.
It isn't charting the sales by any one artist specifically — not even Taylor Swift who is, by far, the biggest seller of vinyl records worldwide. Instead, the resurgence of the vinyl record industry has prompted the U.K.'s Office for National Statistics to put records into the basket of goods it uses to determine the rate of inflation.
"The virtual basket contains over 700 carefully selected items representative of the goods and services that U.K. consumers typically spend their money on," the office said in a March 11 statement. "Some items are removed from the basket, some are brought in, while others remain unchanged. This annual updating reflects the changing tastes and habits of consumers and maintains the accuracy and relevance of our inflation estimates."
The last time LPs were part of the ONS' inflation statistics was 1992.
This year, the statistics keepers added 16 items and moved 15 out of a total of 744 items. Among the items joining vinyl records in the basket are the air fryer, rice cakes and gluten-free bread. Hand sanitizer, the sofa bed and rotisserie-cooked whole chickens are out.
"Often the basket reflects the adoption of new technology, but the return of vinyl records shows how cultural revivals can affect our spending," ONS Deputy Director for Prices Matt Corder said.