Why is vinyl taking off so big? Vinyl sales in the last few years have been better than they have been since the 80s, and many wrote vinyl as a dead medium throughout the 90s. It was rare for an artist to even have a vinyl copy of their record, and even material from Bob Dylan, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, and many other mainstream staples are still missing vinyl for their respective 90s releases. It was on the brink of death, and it has been brought back in a major way.
The resurgence has a lot to do with cultural trends. But, it may have a more practical reason. There have always been people who crave the ownership part of music. They do not want a digital file. They want the art, the experience, and the physical aspect of owning a record. That has not gone away as CD sales are slipping. People realize that if they are still seeking ownership of music, they may as well get something that displays the music in a great way with better quality. A used record player and some used LP records accomplish exactly that.
CD sales are in a free fall while vinyl and used record player sales go up. If people are paying money for a record, they may as well get the full ownership experience provided by a vinyl. Furthermore, vinyl is usually cheaper. A CD is $10 to $15. It is small so the art isn’t nearly as impressive. The audio is compressed, it is nothing more than a digital file on a physical disc, which is pointless for audio quality. Even buyers who are mostly disinterested in audio quality can attest to the ownership and value of having their favourite records in full vinyl format.
Better yet, many new bands are exploring vinyl. Rock band Brand New has remastered their entire collection specifically for vinyl, available at Website.com. The original tracks were produced for a vinyl reissue, and not just taken from the mp3 files (as is common with cheap new vinyl reissues). David Bowie is reissuing his entire catalogue on vinyl with bonus tracks in 180-gram quality records, as is Joni Mitchell and Neil Young. Vinyl is a focus point for new and classic artists, and that is only perpetuating the popularity of the medium.
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