Noel Gallagher has said that he converted to buying music online and believes that online trading will be the only way forward - with vinyl and CDs coming to an end within four years.
His second solo album, Chasing Yesterday is the UK’s bestselling vinyl of 2015, but the High Flying Bird doesn’t believe vinyl fans can sustain the industry.
In an interview with Q, the 'Half The World Away' songwriter said: "For the people who still want to buy and own music, for me to be sat at the top of that list really is great. Until you look at how many people are actually buying it and it's like a thousand albums! F**king hell, I've probably got more than a thousand sat in my office right now. But it's the streaming thing, there will be no record sales by the end of the decade, I think.”
After much resistance, Noel has finally conceded to downloading music, “Well, where do you buy records these days? I can't go to HMV. How long do you think it would take me to get out of HMV if I went in? If I go into a record store they usually turn into autograph sessions so I avoid them now. I think that's the way music is going now though, for me anyway, I'm more into tracks."
The man behind Britpop classics such as ‘Wonderwall’ and ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ used to hold the record for the UK’s fastest-selling album, with Oasis’ Be Here Now in 1997. The 90’s classic sold 696,000 in the first week of its release. However, Adele has recently broken that record, so far selling a whopping 737,000 in opening week.
Noel will be playing a free concert for BBC Radio 2 at BBC Radio Theatre, London, on 2 December, without his Flying Birds.
