Netflix subscribers worldwide

From 2012 to 2023, Netflix subscribers and US vinyl record sales grew together at a correlation of 0.97, raising the possibility that the same person who pays for prestige television also insists on listening to Fleetwood Mac through a medium that requires physical effort. This person is, statistically, everywhere. They have a record player next to their television and strong opinions about both. They are not reading this; they are too busy.

Netflix grew from roughly 27 million subscribers worldwide in 2012 to over 230 million by 2023, transforming global entertainment consumption. US vinyl record sales grew from about 4 million units in 2012 to over 43 million by 2023, continuing a revival that began in the mid-2000s among audiophiles and expanded to mainstream consumers. Both are premiumization stories: consumers paying more for a perceived quality experience in categories where digital convenience had initially won. Both markets skew toward higher-income, culturally engaged consumers, suggesting overlapping demographics.

Two forms of deliberate consumption — one screen-based, one tactile — grew together because they share a customer: someone willing to pay for the experience of caring about how they consume. The correlation is not meaningless; it is just not causal.