Can anyone explain the vinyl renaissance?

[dlaloum]

Vinyl out sold CD’s last last year and is on track to increase.

Sometimes the strangest things can go through a craze.... look up the Dutch Tulip market bubble ...

Tulip mania - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Angsty]

Vinyl out sold CD’s last last year and is on track to increase.

From a revenue perspective, vinyl has outsold CDs for multiple years now.

 

[Angsty]

Having just done comparison of vinyl, CD and SACD of the same '70s album on high-end equipment, I feel like sharing my result that old CDs are objectively challenged in fidelity, because of inferior digital computers back then. SACD sounds best, but vinyl sounds better than the '90s CD reissue (more detail/fidelity).

With regard to new vinyl, it seems that quality is often inferior to old vinyl. Like the reverse situation of CDs. Well, people who say new vinyl sounds better than new CDs should be dismissed until a concentrated comparison on high-end equipment is performed obviously.

A lot depends on the mastering for each medium. In my experience, the mastering makes more of a difference than the medium in how much I enjoy an album.

There are some mastering engineers that seem to make everything they touch sound great. Others, it’s hit or miss.

 

[Newman]

A lot depends on the mastering for each medium. In my experience, the mastering makes more of a difference than the medium in how much I enjoy an album.

Certainly, and MCH mastering makes the biggest difference of all.

 

[SIY]

Vinyl out sold CD’s last last year and is on track to increase.

Perhaps the disappearance of CD demand due to streaming may have something to do with that?

 

[jsrtheta]

Vinyl out sold CD’s last last year and is on track to increase.

At least until the last hipster dies or goes deaf.

BTW, vinyl is still a big loser to digital music. Streaming digital music is in a whole 'nother galaxy, moneywise.

 

[MattHooper]

There is a one word answer. “Money”. Vinyl is a trendy way to sell a hard copy.

Those rotten capitalists!

"Vinyl Profits" will become an oxymoron again!
Let's wait and see...

This gives Nostradamus a run for sheer vagueness.

One day Putin won't be in charge of Russia. Let's wait (long enough) and see if my prediction comes true.

 

[Newman]

Perhaps the disappearance of CD demand due to streaming may have something to do with that?

You mean like this?

Spot the year when smartphones with data connectivity hit the market!

And that's 2016 for 22% physical share. Fast forward and today the physical share is halved again to 11%.

And of course that 11% is in dollars! Given the absurd price of an LP vs the alternatives on a per song basis, the share of Music Listening Minutes on LP is probably around the 1% to 2% mark.

Wait: remember how 50% of LP buyers don't own a player? I might have overestimated at 1%!

cheers

 

[Angsty]

You mean like this?

Spot the year when smartphones with data connectivity hit the market!

And that's 2016 for 22% physical share. Fast forward and today the physical share is halved again to 11%.

And of course that 11% is in dollars! Given the absurd price of an LP vs the alternatives on a per song basis, the share of Music Listening Minutes on LP is probably around the 1% to 2% mark.

Wait: remember how 50% of LP buyers don't own a player? I might have overestimated at 1%!

cheers

Sales of both CDs and LPs grew in 2021 - I have not seen the physical media growth stats in 2022 yet.

Edit: Growth of vinyl unit sales flattened substantially in 2022, but still grew. CD sales decreased 11.6% by volume.

Did the Music Business Just Kill the Vinyl Revival? The Honest Broker

Growth in vinyl album sales have collapsed from 95% to 4% and that may be ominous news for the music industry.

www.ecoustics.com

 

[Angsty]

Wait: remember how 50% of LP buyers don't own a player? I might have overestimated at 1%!

More growth opportunity for the turntable market! I’m seeing more new models being introduced and even U-Turn has debuted a higher end design for those looking to upgrade.

 

[Newman]

More growth opportunity for the turntable market!

You are assuming the 50% of LP buyers who don't own a TT actually want to play them!

It would be more logical to assume they are buying the LP in the same spirit as buying the T-shirt with a graphic of the new LP on it. Merchandise collection.

The big engine driving the vinyl revival: "I went to the concert and bought the T-shirt and the LP!"

Meanwhile we pontificate on here about whether it has something to do with mastering and sound quality! ROTFLOL!

cheers

 

[Angsty]

You are assuming the 50% of LP buyers who don't own a TT actually want to play them!

That’s what marketing is for! Getting to 60% would be a major accomplishment.

I can’t say I’ve seen a really effective turntable marketing campaign outside of Crosley .

 

[thecheapseats]

very little left unsaid after 2200+ comments... so many amazing performances have been recorded in the previous +/- ten decades - and if some of those are recordings you enjoy and also have great fidelity - consider yourself lucky...

and with those stellar recorded performances, I can politely ignore a less-than-great fidelity recording (by today's standards) - and still be awestruck...

 

[Sal1950]

Vinyl out sold CD’s last last year and is on track to increase.

Some users are just too slow to understand that for 2ch sources, hard media like CD and Vinyl are long obsolete
and belong in the trash heap. Digital people are just a little brighter.

By FAR my least favorite aspect of the format is keeping the stupid things clean and static electricity free

You got to find one of those silly anti-static guns (ZeroStat's) to shoot your squashed hockey pucks with.
I hear they get about $100 for these things today. LOL

"The device utilizes two piezo-electric crystals that are compressed by squeezing a hand trigger. The compression of the piezo-electric crystals generates a positive stream of ions that attracts the dust off the surface of the record and leaves the surface with a negative charge."

 

[dlaloum]

Some users are just too slow to understand that for 2ch sources, hard media like CD and Vinyl are long obsolete
and belong in the trash heap. Digital people are just a little brighter.


You got to find one of those silly anti-static guns (ZeroStat's) to shoot your squashed hockey pucks with.
I hear they get about $100 for these things today. LOL

"The device utilizes two piezo-electric crystals that are compressed by squeezing a hand trigger. The compression of the piezo-electric crystals generates a positive stream of ions that attracts the dust off the surface of the record and leaves the surface with a negative charge."

Never used the Zerostat, but love my discwasher brush....

 

[fpitas]

At least until the last hipster dies or goes deaf.

You jest (I think), but one bellwether of a band is "vinyl-only"releases. Oddly, they almost always release digital files, too.

 

[Ken1951]

Never used the Zerostat, but love my discwasher brush....

I had that complete set just as pictured way, way, way back in the day.

 

[Godataloss]

Some users are just too slow to understand that for 2ch sources, hard media like CD and Vinyl are long obsolete
and belong in the trash heap. Digital people are just a little brighter.


You got to find one of those silly anti-static guns (ZeroStat's) to shoot your squashed hockey pucks with.
I hear they get about $100 for these things today. LOL

"The device utilizes two piezo-electric crystals that are compressed by squeezing a hand trigger. The compression of the piezo-electric crystals generates a positive stream of ions that attracts the dust off the surface of the record and leaves the surface with a negative charge."

Sounds like someone cashed out his vinyl at a market nadir, lol.

I've got a Zerostat- gift from a lab rat friend. Those electric-arc lighters actually work better for about ten bucks.

 

[NiagaraPete]

From a revenue perspective, vinyl has outsold CDs for multiple years now.

I took advantage of this and sold my tt and albums. For a premium price I might add For years I thought they’d end up in a landfill.

 

[Angsty]

You jest (I think), but one bellwether of a band is "vinyl-only"releases. Oddly, they almost always release digital files, too.

My understanding, if incomplete, is that bands make more money from vinyl sales than digital sales. The limited global production capacity of vinyl may hold up the LP release for months, though.