Many people will agree that there is no better time to be a music lover than now. People can now find various ways to enjoy listening to music.
Digital formats and streaming services will remain the most popular way of getting and listening to music. However, a significant portion still prefers to listen to music from their CDs and, especially, vinyl records collection.
With the technological advancements marching along with time, many people predicted that physical forms of music, especially vinyl records, would be on their way out. But here we are in the 21st century, yet vinyl records did not die – instead, they are even experiencing a resurgence of popularity.
Why is that? Is it the cool and “hipster” factor? Is it the vinyls’ “retro” charm? Or is it the nostalgia? Check out the possible reasons why vinyl records are enjoying a revival once again:
1. Tangibility
Subscription streaming services may provide consumers an unprecedented convenience and access to “special” features and more music, but something is lost, too. That’s ownership. You may play mp3’s, FLAC’s or other digital music files from your smartphone; still, you feel you don’t own them. Vinyl records, on the other hand, are physical items that you can purchase in person from the records store, hold in your hands, collect, and discuss endlessly with record shop clerks and likeminded music lovers. Vinyl records also have other features, such as sleeve jacket, artwork, and liner notes, that digital music formats obviously lack.
2. Audiophiles and vinyl collectors
You will be amazed that most people interested in purchasing, acquiring, and collecting vinyl records are millennials. People at ages 35 and below account for more than 70% of the market buying LPs (long play records) and EPs (extended play records) or “45”’s.
Of course, longtime vinyl collectors don’t want to be outdone by continuing their hobby. Twenty-seven percent of the buyers from come the 36-and-above age group. For them, purchasing records with songs they’ve been familiar with rejuvenate the days of their youth, while getting to enjoy new music in vinyl formats.
3. Sound quality
One of vinyl records’ most significant appeal to consumers is the old-school analog sound quality they reverberate. This is the reason why vinyl records are way better than their digital counterparts – especially the compressed (“lossy”) digital formats used by most streaming services. Surprised?
It’s true that there are formats available today, such as FLAC’s, that provide better sound quality compared to WMA and MP3 formats. However, the sound and vocals that vinyl records produce come far closer to the real deal, giving vinyls a superior quality effect.
4. The experience
Streaming services have dramatically changed the way people listen to music. Yes, you may listen to music anytime and anywhere from your smartphone, but there’s a certain appeal of fishing the vinyl record out of the sleeve jacket and putting it on the turntable. There’s the feeling of thrill whenever you buy a brand-new or used vinyl copy of the Beatles or Franz Ferdinand LP from the records store. Vinyl lovers are still spending significant amounts of money building their dedicated Hi-Fi sound system in their homes. It’s vinyl records that give listeners that kind of experience that music streaming services can’t provide.
5. The value of vinyl
Vinyl records are usually expensive, costing nearly three times the price of a CD. Yet over time, the value appreciates depending on the artist or the vinyl record’s rarity. Retro albums from Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Queen, and Michael Jackson that have been repressed now sell at higher prices. So, you can look at purchasing vinyl records as a wise investment.