Tesco releasing vinyl will be terrible for us all

All good things must come to an end and just as the vinyl resurgence looks like its getting healthier every day Tesco rears its ugly head and says: "That looks profitable. I want in on that!"

Not content with helping destroy the livelihoods of farmers, local businesses and the Amazon rainforest, Tesco has now announced it wants to have a go at bringing ruin to the flourishing, but barely stable vinyl industry.

This month will see the trial run release of Iron Maiden's new album on wax across 55 of its biggest stores, which if successful could result in them stocking a much wider collection and bringing disaster for the rest of us.

Independent record stores already live a delicate existence as it is. If they are to go toe-to-toe with the much larger supermarkets, with more money and more resources, how are they expected to keep afloat? Tesco could easily wipe out independent record stores just as they have wiped out local businesses across the country.

We may be amidst a vinyl revolution right now, but we must be realistic. Vinyl music sales may have been the biggest they've been since 1995 last year, but this still only accounted for 2 per cent of the entire music market, towered still by digital sales, which Tesco has already tried and failed to get in on. Vinyl is still a minuscule market, but one that many stores rely on to stay afloat.