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Vinyl set to outsell CDs for first time since 1986

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Re: Vinyl set to outsell CDs for first time since 1986

#11

Post by imstate »

big_chungus wrote: post #2

Would some one please enlighten me as to what on God's green earth is going on with vinyl? It's less dense, lower-quality, degrades with use, and is more expensive. It's probably less environmentally-friendly, too (though I'm not sure what it's target demographic is, so I don't know if that means much). Why is vinyl popular, all of a sudden? I had to rip all my grandmother's vinyl records, once, and it was a pain in…

I like to collect vinyl for a few reasons. I like having a physical copy, it supports the bands I love, and it comes with the digital copy.

There's a lot to be said about the imperfections in vinyl playback combined with the analog output.

Re: Vinyl set to outsell CDs for first time since 1986

#12

Post by tsomctl »

big_chungus wrote: post #2

Would some one please enlighten me as to what on God's green earth is going on with vinyl? It's less dense, lower-quality, degrades with use, and is more expensive. It's probably less environmentally-friendly, too (though I'm not sure what it's target demographic is, so I don't know if that means much). Why is vinyl popular, all of a sudden? I had to rip all my grandmother's vinyl records, once, and it was a pain in…

Go smoke some weed and drop the needle down onto Dark Side of the Moon. You’ll understand.

Re: Vinyl set to outsell CDs for first time since 1986

#13

Post by jrmg »

Note that this is talking about revenue, not unit sales:

The new report states that vinyl records earned $224.1 million (from 8.6 million units) in the first half of 2019. This figure is impressively close to the CD numbers ($247.9 million, 18.6 million units).

Re: Vinyl set to outsell CDs for first time since 1986

#14

Post by geogra4 »

kome wrote: post #6
big_chungus wrote: post #2

Would some one please enlighten me as to what on God's green earth is going on with vinyl? It's less dense, lower-quality, degrades with use, and is more expensive. It's probably less environmentally-friendly, too (though I'm not sure what it's target demographic is, so I don't know if that means much). Why is vinyl popular, all of a sudden? I had to rip all my grandmother's vinyl records, once, and it was a pain in…

Vinyls are better objects to handle: they are bigger, they have better artworks and usually richer booklet. To play vinyl is like a beautiful ritual, full of little gestures. It's not about technology, of course, it's about fun. Like analog photography.

I wonder at some point if film cameras will outsell digital ones

Re: Vinyl set to outsell CDs for first time since 1986

#15

Post by thinkmassive »

By revenue, not by units sold.

Still interesting, and not really surprising based on my anecdotal experience of artists I follow. Streaming audio is good enough for most sound systems commonly in use.

Vinyl serves as a better collectible from a favorite artist for a few reasons.

  - more room for cover art

  - physical analog medium (superficial, but has value to some)

  - requires more care than CDs (proves the owner’s dedication to maintaining the collection)

  - limited production runs make it more scarce than easily copied CDs

Re: Vinyl set to outsell CDs for first time since 1986

#16

Post by monocasa »

big_chungus wrote: post #2

Would some one please enlighten me as to what on God's green earth is going on with vinyl? It's less dense, lower-quality, degrades with use, and is more expensive. It's probably less environmentally-friendly, too (though I'm not sure what it's target demographic is, so I don't know if that means much). Why is vinyl popular, all of a sudden? I had to rip all my grandmother's vinyl records, once, and it was a pain in…

There's a lot of albums that aren't mastered correctly for digital. They end up clipping outside the dynamic range because they're too loud. Vinyl doesn't really clip in the same way. And this isn't an old phenomenon, it's getting worse in fact.

You can see some of that here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war

Additionally, bands will typically get better margins on vinyl (although that's starting to disappear).

Re: Vinyl set to outsell CDs for first time since 1986

#17

Post by benologist »

ch4s3 wrote: post #4
big_chungus wrote: post #2

Would some one please enlighten me as to what on God's green earth is going on with vinyl? It's less dense, lower-quality, degrades with use, and is more expensive. It's probably less environmentally-friendly, too (though I'm not sure what it's target demographic is, so I don't know if that means much). Why is vinyl popular, all of a sudden? I had to rip all my grandmother's vinyl records, once, and it was a pain in…

I think it's a mix of aesthetics, nostalgia, and some elements of the experience. Vinyl albums have big. often interesting art. Browsing a collection of vinyl has an element of serendipity as well, who knows what you may and on. Additionally, the listening experience is different because it's hard to skip around, songs bleed into one another. It's a case of worse is better.

I think it's mostly nostalgia because if you listen to music a lot in album form you'll ruin them, if you have kids you'll ruin them, if you have friends you'll ruin them, if they're near a window you'll ruin them, your record player can ruin them, an earthquake can ruin them. This is a music format with moving, degrading parts.

I think LPs are bad for our environment compared to digital. I don't need tens of kilograms of plastic to enjoy music even if I would enjoy the process more than digital music players.

Re: Vinyl set to outsell CDs for first time since 1986

#18

Post by nacho_weekend »

big_chungus wrote: post #2

Would some one please enlighten me as to what on God's green earth is going on with vinyl? It's less dense, lower-quality, degrades with use, and is more expensive. It's probably less environmentally-friendly, too (though I'm not sure what it's target demographic is, so I don't know if that means much). Why is vinyl popular, all of a sudden? I had to rip all my grandmother's vinyl records, once, and it was a pain in…

Some People are starting to grow sick of the all digital access off the post-iTunes MP3 era, now the streaming era. The physical connection to the album is lost - and if you’re a music nerd, and want to have a physical connection to the music, Vinyl is a superior format. Often the artwork is much larger, intricate, and gatefolds are beautiful, not to mention limited color releases and picture discs. It’s something you can frame or display on a shelf, and feels more vintage than a CD. Rarely would I say people listen to them as much as collect and display them.

Re: Vinyl set to outsell CDs for first time since 1986

#19

Post by tomhoward »

big_chungus wrote: post #9
tyingq wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nostalgia and appearance. Old cars drive like crap and are unsafe, but popular for the same reason.

I understand that, but old cars are a hobby of a limited number of people, not of "Joe Average". This would be like old cars out-selling new ones.

Digital recordings still vastly outsell vinyl; it’s just that CDs are declining in favor of MP3s and streaming, whilst demand for vinyl among enthusiasts/collectors holds up.

Re: Vinyl set to outsell CDs for first time since 1986

#20

Post by criddell »

geogra4 wrote: post #14
kome wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Vinyls are better objects to handle: they are bigger, they have better artworks and usually richer booklet. To play vinyl is like a beautiful ritual, full of little gestures. It's not about technology, of course, it's about fun. Like analog photography.

I wonder at some point if film cameras will outsell digital ones

I don't think so. One of the big drivers of vinyl is the collectible aspect of it.
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