Vinyl Hit $1 Billion. Meet the Collectible Tier It Was Missing: Alliance Authentic

PLANTATION, Fla., April 2nd, 2026 - For some collectors, certain records are never just records. They are the artifact of a feeling, proof of a moment in music that mattered, preserved in a way that lasts. Until now, no formal system existed to protect those records before they were ever handled. Today, Alliance Authentic launches as that system.

Built by Alliance Entertainment (Nasdaq: AENT), the world's largest distributor of vinyl records, Alliance Authentic preserves and encapsulates records in certified uncirculated condition before they reach retail. Each preserved record is curated for cultural or historical significance, documented at the moment of pressing, and given a permanent digital identity secured by NFC technology. That identity, along with verified condition and full provenance, travels with the record across every change of ownership.

Read more in Forbes HERE :

"As vinyl collecting continues to diversify, Alliance Authentic may serve a new generation of record buyers, as well as the time-tested LP hunters."

The market. The RIAA's 2025 Year-End Revenue Report confirmed vinyl's 19th consecutive year of growth, reaching $1 billion in US revenue, up 9.3%. Globally, IFPI reported physical music revenue reached $5.3 billion, with vinyl growing 13.7% in 2025. That growth is happening inside a collectibles market projected to reach $535 billion by 2033, up from $306 billion in 2024 (Grand View Research). Research from the Vinyl Alliance found that 62% of vinyl buyers purchase physical music to support artists, 56% cite aesthetic value, and 35% describe physical ownership as a mark of true fandom. Collectors at this scale are not buying format. They are preserving meaning.

The standard. Every Alliance Authentic release meets five non-negotiable preservation standards: curated, numbered, limited, certified uncirculated, and NFC-secured. Encapsulation happens before records enter retail distribution, the only point at which an unhandled condition can be verified and permanently documented. Each record is sealed in a 10-mil, sonic-welded archival enclosure with a tamper-evident design. Once sealed, the casing cannot be opened without visible evidence. When a preserved record changes hands through the Alliance Authentic platform, its authenticated identity and documented provenance transfer with it.

Visit the Alliance Authentic platform HERE .

The releases. Current titles include Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon50th Anniversary pressing, Kendrick Lamar's good kid, m.A.A.d city, Black Sabbath's Paranoid, and Chappell Roan's The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess,each selected for lasting cultural weight.

Alliance Authentic is powered by Endstate, which provides the NFC authentication infrastructure underlying every preserved record. Each record carries a permanent digital identity - tap the chip with any smartphone and the full provenance of that specific numbered copy is instantly accessible: its origin, preservation record, and ownership history. That identity does not reset between owners. It travels with the record. When collectors buy and sell preserved records through the Alliance Authentic platform, condition, authenticity, and provenance remain intact across every transaction.

"The vinyl record has become something different for a generation of collectors. It is not simply a format. It is how they express who they are, what they love, and what matters to them. For some, it is the deepest connection they have to an artist or a moment in their lives. Alliance Authentic exists for that collector, and for that record." - Jeffrey, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Alliance Authentic.

For more information, please contact Hannah Schwartz at Shore Fire Media.