There is no denying; vinyl is making a comeback. If it’s not already at it’s peak. A few weeks ago, after once again spending my grocery money on records, I was talking to the shop owner of a record store I come to often. He told me that vinyl pressing plants that have been out of business for decades are now opening again (if in the right state) to try and keep up with the growing demand. But the fact is, there are only about forty working plants globally.
A New York Times article on the pressing plants, explains that the machines even look like they have been stuck in time. Almost everything is still manually operated. It may take months, if not a year, for the record you ordered to get printed and delivered to you. The same goes for artists that want to have their newest work released on vinyl. Especially if you are signed to an indie label. They tend to get pushed back when wanting to release vinyl at the same time as a major label or artist. And if you think about the fact that major labels are re-releasing countless oldies, so if you are a small fish you have to be patient. Very patient.
Everybody is buzzing about the vinyl revival and sure, between 2009 and 2015 the sales of vinyl has gone up with 290 percent, but vinyl is still only a small player in the music industry, only providing 3,6 percent of the income. But with such an impressive increase in sales, we cannot help but wonder why people are turning their back to (illegal) downloading and like me, spend their grocery-, clothing-, or drinking money on vinyl.
Music experience
The first reason is undoubtedly the quality of the sound, which is so much richer, warmer, and more layered than CD or digital download. It makes getting up every fifteen minutes to turn the record worth it. The second thing is, that with the digital culture we are living in today, it is so easy to set up a label and produce mediocre music of terrible quality, that it seems as if the rise of vinyl is a counter movement or antithesis. Because vinyl is so expensive to produce the quality must be good. Third, from time to time we fall back on fashions of the past. Artists that like the rich sound of vinyl will want to produce something similar and consumers are motivated by the look, feel and maybe nostalgia of the vinyl and the record player. What I personally also really like is the fact that you have to listen through the entire record, rather than just skipping to your favourite song. Because it is so difficult to hop to a song on vinyl (the material is seriously fragile) you are experiencing a whole album. Fourth, and I admit my personal bias and the lack of arguments as to why, but they just look so cool. The big covers, the beautiful artwork, the crackling sound.
It may be that vinyl is still a niche market, but record stores are popping up everywhere again, and that means that vinyl lovers are not limited any more to small dusty second-hand stores or getting up at the crack of dawn to scoop the flee markets. Though bending over, and kneeling in front of crates filled with records is certainly part of the charm, it is nice there are now stores that have waist-high shelves.
Pics: Mai/DncnH