Spring Break
Believe it or not, Vinyl is back
Alex McElroy
Issue date: 2/6/09 Section: Diversions
All around dorm rooms and dusty independent music stores alike, the word is spreading: vinyl is back.
Like the plague, which reached peak popularity in the middle ages only to lay dormant for years, the record is once again infiltrating society. Linking encouraging vinyl sales to an infectious disease might seem over-the-top, but really, what else is there to go off of?
If I were to compare the trend to the revitalization of the low-carb diet fad - yes, it's been here before - my claim would be arbitrary. Everyone knows that a record renaissance, soothed by the scratchy analog we've longed for these past 30 years, is far more important than the latest trend to curb the obesity epidemic.
I don't mean to blow this out of proportion, but can you really exaggerate a shift in listening tastes that has the opportunity, combined with the digital revolution, to end the CD era? Sales reports show a 46.2 percent increase in vinyl's revenue in 2007. And if numbers aren't enough to get you hooked, how about this: all the cool kids listen to vinyl.
Blogs (which I also hear are somewhat popular) everywhere are jumping on the trend. The authors are posting their opinions on why record sales are booming and which ones are must-haves for those of us new to the niche. If people online are aware of the vinyl resurgence, then it must be real; that Internet is always two steps ahead of the game (it even knows next week's weather!).
Claims of similar confidence have been made before - "The state quarter map will practically pay for itself!" - but I have faith in vinyl. How do I know it's here to stay? Well, I don't. In fact, it could die out within a year, and the roughly $544 (I think that's what my calculator said; I slammed it against the wall once I saw the product) I've spent on records could all go for naught. So maybe that's why I wrote the article: to make sure that records do, in fact, stay snazzy, the cat's pajamas, the bee's knees and whatever other currently relevant slang one may think of.
Like the plague, which reached peak popularity in the middle ages only to lay dormant for years, the record is once again infiltrating society. Linking encouraging vinyl sales to an infectious disease might seem over-the-top, but really, what else is there to go off of?
If I were to compare the trend to the revitalization of the low-carb diet fad - yes, it's been here before - my claim would be arbitrary. Everyone knows that a record renaissance, soothed by the scratchy analog we've longed for these past 30 years, is far more important than the latest trend to curb the obesity epidemic.
I don't mean to blow this out of proportion, but can you really exaggerate a shift in listening tastes that has the opportunity, combined with the digital revolution, to end the CD era? Sales reports show a 46.2 percent increase in vinyl's revenue in 2007. And if numbers aren't enough to get you hooked, how about this: all the cool kids listen to vinyl.
Blogs (which I also hear are somewhat popular) everywhere are jumping on the trend. The authors are posting their opinions on why record sales are booming and which ones are must-haves for those of us new to the niche. If people online are aware of the vinyl resurgence, then it must be real; that Internet is always two steps ahead of the game (it even knows next week's weather!).
Claims of similar confidence have been made before - "The state quarter map will practically pay for itself!" - but I have faith in vinyl. How do I know it's here to stay? Well, I don't. In fact, it could die out within a year, and the roughly $544 (I think that's what my calculator said; I slammed it against the wall once I saw the product) I've spent on records could all go for naught. So maybe that's why I wrote the article: to make sure that records do, in fact, stay snazzy, the cat's pajamas, the bee's knees and whatever other currently relevant slang one may think of.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Doug DiCarolis
posted 2/06/09 @ 10:23 AM PST
Hey Alex,
I've owned and operated Happy Trails Records for the last 23 years,and I have to agree that vinyl is indeed back.The demand for it at my shop has increased dramatically over the last 2 years. (Continued…)
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