Vinyl has been making a large comeback in the past few years, thanks in no small part to creative new releases by popular artists. It was thought to be laid to rest by CDs and digital downloads, but it has somehow managed to prevail.
Nielsen Music, revered for its analysis of music sales, has concluded from statistics so far this year that 9 percent of all physical music sales were from the vinyl format. That may not sound like much, but it is pretty remarkable considering the recent dominance of streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music. In fact, the digital album sales services that were once touted as "the future of music" have begun to secede to these services.
Nielsen has also confirmed that the vinyl sales have yet to reach their peak: vinyl sales saw a 52 percent increase between 2013 and last year.
"They are coming back to vinyl again because they find vinyl is more fun," stated record store owner Joseph GaNun.
Few people saw this coming. Vinyl was rendered outdated in the late 1980s, first by compact and convenient cassette tapes and later by crystal-clear CDs. Information from the Recording Industry Association of America has revealed the sharp decline in vinyl sales: around 450 million units were sold in the year 1979, but less than 150 million units were being sold annually by 1987. Although the Britpop movement of the late 1990s brought in a minor vinyl fad, annual sales of the medium never began to increase until 2007.
Why has vinyl come back? There doesn't seem to be one definite answer. One factor may be what music commentator Simon Reynolds has called "Retromania". Older generations become nostalgic around the format that they grew up with and younger ones are amazed to be using the antique technology for the first time.
Nostalgia isn't the only reason for the revival, however. In the eyes of DJ and vinyl entrepreneur Colleen Murphy, vinyl is an intimate medium that forces people to have a deeper connection with their music.
"The other thing with vinyl is, you have to interact with it. You have to engage," said Murphy. She couldn't be more correct. When playing a record, one has to take it out of several different sleeves and must be willing to flip it over after the first side had played. Those listening to CDs can simply place their album of choice in the tray and press play.
Another reason for vinyl's return is its unique, warm and natural sound that is cherished by millions of listeners. Modern digital formats--despite their accuracy and lack of surface noise--are incapable of providing such a sound.
In Murphy's opinion, "When you listen to CDs after you've been listening to vinyl for a long time, it sounds a bit...synthetic."
Vinyl is also appreciated for not just containing a work of musical art, but for being a work of visual art itself. Artists over the years have made creative use of vinyl packaging over the years, and the records themselves have been released in many colors and patterns. The artistic nature of the format is mainly what seems to be drawing people in. Musicol, a Columbus-area record plant, has seen its color vinyl output shift from ten percent to fifty percent over the past few years.
Many hot-ticket artists have lent their creativity to the revival, one of them being Jack White. According to Nielsen, White's Lazaretto was last year's best selling album on the vinyl format, grossing the highest amount of yearly sales of any album on the format since 1991. Since that's the year that the company began to track album sales, Lazaretto has sold more vinyl copies in one year than any other album that Nielsen has tracked in its history.
Why has it been such a hot seller? Believe it or not, it's not just the critically acclaimed music on the record. An overachiever at heart, White set out to reinvent the wheel when creating the "Ultra" edition of his release. SPIN has listed many of its features, including a side that plays from the inside out, hidden tracks that play at 45 and 78 RPM and a floating angel hologram that moves while the record is playing.
White is not alone, however, as many artists have released special colored records for Record Store Day, a day created to celebrate the vinyl format and the independent stores responsible for keeping it alive.
With the vinyl industry at a 20 year high, some wonder whether or not this resurgence is just a temporary fad. "Fat" Mike Burkett, musician and founder of Fat Wreck Chords, thinks that vinyl will be cherished for years to come.
"I think that vinyl will always be here," said Burkett. "I mean, it hasn't died--it should have died 20 years ago--but now it's getting more popular."
There is a slight chance that vinyl may become the dominant physical format for music as streaming and digital downloads slowly kill the CD. However, whether this happens or not, vinyl will always have a devoted fan base to keep the ball rolling.
Now why do I care about all of this? It all goes back to one of my favorite quotes from the late John Peel:
"Somebody was trying to tell me that CDs are better than vinyl because they don't have any surface noise. I said, 'Listen, mate, life has surface noise."
Nielsen Music, revered for its analysis of music sales, has concluded from statistics so far this year that 9 percent of all physical music sales were from the vinyl format. That may not sound like much, but it is pretty remarkable considering the recent dominance of streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music. In fact, the digital album sales services that were once touted as "the future of music" have begun to secede to these services.
Nielsen has also confirmed that the vinyl sales have yet to reach their peak: vinyl sales saw a 52 percent increase between 2013 and last year.
"They are coming back to vinyl again because they find vinyl is more fun," stated record store owner Joseph GaNun.
Few people saw this coming. Vinyl was rendered outdated in the late 1980s, first by compact and convenient cassette tapes and later by crystal-clear CDs. Information from the Recording Industry Association of America has revealed the sharp decline in vinyl sales: around 450 million units were sold in the year 1979, but less than 150 million units were being sold annually by 1987. Although the Britpop movement of the late 1990s brought in a minor vinyl fad, annual sales of the medium never began to increase until 2007.
 |
| Vinyl sales experienced a downturn throughout the 1980s, but now the format is growing popular with music fans (Courtesy of Digital Music News) |
Nostalgia isn't the only reason for the revival, however. In the eyes of DJ and vinyl entrepreneur Colleen Murphy, vinyl is an intimate medium that forces people to have a deeper connection with their music.
"The other thing with vinyl is, you have to interact with it. You have to engage," said Murphy. She couldn't be more correct. When playing a record, one has to take it out of several different sleeves and must be willing to flip it over after the first side had played. Those listening to CDs can simply place their album of choice in the tray and press play.
Another reason for vinyl's return is its unique, warm and natural sound that is cherished by millions of listeners. Modern digital formats--despite their accuracy and lack of surface noise--are incapable of providing such a sound.
In Murphy's opinion, "When you listen to CDs after you've been listening to vinyl for a long time, it sounds a bit...synthetic."
Vinyl is also appreciated for not just containing a work of musical art, but for being a work of visual art itself. Artists over the years have made creative use of vinyl packaging over the years, and the records themselves have been released in many colors and patterns. The artistic nature of the format is mainly what seems to be drawing people in. Musicol, a Columbus-area record plant, has seen its color vinyl output shift from ten percent to fifty percent over the past few years.
Many hot-ticket artists have lent their creativity to the revival, one of them being Jack White. According to Nielsen, White's Lazaretto was last year's best selling album on the vinyl format, grossing the highest amount of yearly sales of any album on the format since 1991. Since that's the year that the company began to track album sales, Lazaretto has sold more vinyl copies in one year than any other album that Nielsen has tracked in its history.
Why has it been such a hot seller? Believe it or not, it's not just the critically acclaimed music on the record. An overachiever at heart, White set out to reinvent the wheel when creating the "Ultra" edition of his release. SPIN has listed many of its features, including a side that plays from the inside out, hidden tracks that play at 45 and 78 RPM and a floating angel hologram that moves while the record is playing.
 |
| Side One of Lazaretto, which starts where the record would normally end. (Courtesy of Engadget) |
White is not alone, however, as many artists have released special colored records for Record Store Day, a day created to celebrate the vinyl format and the independent stores responsible for keeping it alive.
With the vinyl industry at a 20 year high, some wonder whether or not this resurgence is just a temporary fad. "Fat" Mike Burkett, musician and founder of Fat Wreck Chords, thinks that vinyl will be cherished for years to come.
"I think that vinyl will always be here," said Burkett. "I mean, it hasn't died--it should have died 20 years ago--but now it's getting more popular."
There is a slight chance that vinyl may become the dominant physical format for music as streaming and digital downloads slowly kill the CD. However, whether this happens or not, vinyl will always have a devoted fan base to keep the ball rolling.
Now why do I care about all of this? It all goes back to one of my favorite quotes from the late John Peel:
"Somebody was trying to tell me that CDs are better than vinyl because they don't have any surface noise. I said, 'Listen, mate, life has surface noise."
Happy Listening,
Alex
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