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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

#171

Post by mavhc »

cassettesback wrote: post #142
echelon wrote: post #49

As much as it pains me to say this, I think I'm a hipster. I put a lot of attention and care into my audio and vinyl setup, but now that you can find albums at Walmart, the hip factor has been sucked out of it like a vacuum. I've recently been downsizing, and this might be something that doesn't stay with me. I'll keep my signed albums, but maybe not the rest.

You could switch to cassettes, they are the new hipster format, and are at least 5 years away from Walmart. > Discogs actually says cassettes are the fastest-growing format of the big three sold on its website — the others being CDs and vinyl. https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music/cassettes-and-cd... https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/feb/23/cassette-tape-...

Fastest growing is a synonym for smallest

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

#172

Post by parsimo2010 »

Aaronmacaron wrote: post #160
parsimo2010 wrote: post #151

CDs are dying, but they are mostly being killed by streaming services, not by vinyl. Digital music formats are still the king by far. The vast majority of people don't even care that their streamed music is lossy and they lose out on high frequencies that their ears can't hear and their headphones can't reproduce. Vinyl appeals to hipsters and dumb audiophiles (there are smart audiophiles, but they aren't buying viny…

Your conception of vinyl buyers is very negative. I think there's another category of people that buy vinyl. If you really love an album and want to support the artist you can purchase the vinyl version of the album. Apart from supporting the artist you often get additional treats like a nice booklet with the lyrics or additional art/imagery. I really think there's extra value in buying vinyl apart from it being hip.

You can also support artists by going to concerts and buying merch. If you're buying a lower quality audio option that degrades with usage, then you are buying into the hype at least a little bit.

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

#173

Post by taylodl »

gnusty_gnurc wrote: post #65

During EE undergrad I learned about DSP, math and other theory involved in digital audio reproduction and it's clear to me that it's technically superior. There's some truly marvelous engineering behind digital audio. And the best part is that it enhances life: now playing an album isn't "a ritual", I can do it anytime without needing physical, wasteful storage for a degrading format. I'm absolutely baffled how peopl…

Digital formats (FLAC) are not only technically superior, but digital distribution is also greener.

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

#174

Post by S_A_P »

linuxftw wrote: post #58

Vinyl is for hipsters. Objectively inferior capability to reproduce sounds.

Alternate viewpoint. Vinyl is for people born before CDs or digital music was a thing. So maybe hipsters jumped in for a good ol chunk of nostalgia. So? Broad stroke statements like "vinyl" sounds better are just as incorrect as "digital sounds better". A hi end turntable playing vinyl that is clean and well cared for is surprisingly difficult to tell apart from digital audio. It doesn't snap crackle pop if its clean and cared for.

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

#175

Post by _bohm »

parsimo2010 wrote: post #151

CDs are dying, but they are mostly being killed by streaming services, not by vinyl. Digital music formats are still the king by far. The vast majority of people don't even care that their streamed music is lossy and they lose out on high frequencies that their ears can't hear and their headphones can't reproduce. Vinyl appeals to hipsters and dumb audiophiles (there are smart audiophiles, but they aren't buying viny…

Perhaps you should spend a bit more time around music junkies before making such authoritative statements about the market for vinyl :). I am personally close to two communities who still consume vinyl for neither of the reasons you've listed:

1. Underground enthusiasts who enjoy digging for hidden gems that are difficult to find or don't exist on streaming/digital services

2. DJs who prefer vinyl as a medium for mixing

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

#176

Post by daniel-cussen »

mikeash wrote: post #132
criddell wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How well do they do on albums with no gaps between some tracks?

I haven’t paid attention, but from searching around it looks like they generally do this fine.

Yes, listening to Sgt. Pepper's from the Beatles this works fine in streaming.

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

#177

Post by radlad »

mytailorisrich wrote: post #165
Aaronmacaron wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your conception of vinyl buyers is very negative. I think there's another category of people that buy vinyl. If you really love an album and want to support the artist you can purchase the vinyl version of the album. Apart from supporting the artist you often get additional treats like a nice booklet with the lyrics or additional art/imagery. I really think there's extra value in buying vinyl apart from it being hip.

If you want to buy a physical medium then CDs are the obvious option because objectively they are superior to vinyls in every aspects and they can also come with nice booklets. I think that the hip-value of vinyls is extremely important. I write that as someone who had no choice but use vinyls and tapes until I got a CD player...

My partner and I have our favorite albums in vinyl with the covers framed on the wall. You can't do that with CDs. Or you shouldn't.

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

#178

Post by cptskippy »

skinnymuch wrote: post #134
cptskippy wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are looking at this as a CD vs Vinyl battle. Vinyl found a niche and never died entirely. Now CDs are dying because of downloads and streaming and you're saying "why the resurgence vinyl?" There is no resurgence, perhaps a Renaissance in vinyl, but what you're really seeing is just the fall of CD down to vinyl's levels.

Go to https://www.riaa.com/u-s-sales-database/ and select only LP/EP and vinyl single. Or just LP/EP. Including both and just looking without inflation, it’s above 1989 levels and could hit 1988 levels eventually. It’s 5x higher than mid 90s through late 00s. Almost 4x since 2010. Take out vinyl singles and the increase is absurd. It’s 9x to 40x+ increase from any year between 1991 and 2007. 8x from 2008. Almost 2x f…

> Even if you add inflation, the resurgence is still there. IE for LP/EP, 2019 will beat out 1989.

I'm having trouble viewing those graphs on mobile but it looks like in 1989 vinyl only had >4% market share and 34.6 million units, where as in 2018 it had >3% with 16.7 million units.

It's not nothing and it's not a large part of the overall market. It appears to be smaller than 30 years ago when it was considered a dead format.

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

#179

Post by space_fountain »

mytailorisrich wrote: post #165
Aaronmacaron wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your conception of vinyl buyers is very negative. I think there's another category of people that buy vinyl. If you really love an album and want to support the artist you can purchase the vinyl version of the album. Apart from supporting the artist you often get additional treats like a nice booklet with the lyrics or additional art/imagery. I really think there's extra value in buying vinyl apart from it being hip.

If you want to buy a physical medium then CDs are the obvious option because objectively they are superior to vinyls in every aspects and they can also come with nice booklets. I think that the hip-value of vinyls is extremely important. I write that as someone who had no choice but use vinyls and tapes until I got a CD player...

Records are much bigger though. In reality you probably aren't buying physical media to actually play the music so the asthetic becomes the most important thing part and records are better in that aspect

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

#180

Post by philwelch »

parsimo2010 wrote: post #151

CDs are dying, but they are mostly being killed by streaming services, not by vinyl. Digital music formats are still the king by far. The vast majority of people don't even care that their streamed music is lossy and they lose out on high frequencies that their ears can't hear and their headphones can't reproduce. Vinyl appeals to hipsters and dumb audiophiles (there are smart audiophiles, but they aren't buying viny…

I think vinyl has a lot of understated advantages. Vinyl records are large physical artifacts that contain your music with nice, big covers that provide a great medium for artwork. And you have a cool physical ritual of placing it on the turntable. All of that gets lost with tapes and CD's.
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