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Can anyone explain the vinyl renaissance?

JP

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So you're obviously getting new customers if you have a significant increase. And this is the interesting part, who are these new customers? Why they started buying records? The ones I mentioned are the ones I see/talk to/meet in everyday life or in on-line groups. If you know any others, do share.

I've never seen stats that give me confidence in a position on it. I've seen gross sales, and volume by medium, but have not seen net buyers, buying cycles, new vs. used, share of wallet, etc. Anecdotally, aside from the new titles, the jazz reissue titles and availability as increased many fold in the past five year or so, and those folks are buying everything up. Seeding a very strong flipper segment as well.

The list of reasons people like vinyl is about a long as my arm, with a few stand-out but likely not actual reasons. There are facets, there are dimensions, and there are journeys. I know what I get out of vinyl has changed about five times in the last dozen years, including several years where I enjoyed working on 'tables but couldn't care less to listen. People also seem to forget that for every fad there is always a group of die-hards that never did anything else.

It could be a fun topic to try to decompose if everyone wasn't so interested in projecting their positions, and dying on those hills.
 

MattHooper

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(my emphasis)
The list of reasons people like vinyl is about a long as my arm, with a few stand-out but likely not actual reasons.

Exactly.

It could be a fun topic to try to decompose if everyone wasn't so interested in projecting their positions, and dying on those hills.

My position is that there is a list of reasons people like vinyl that is about as long as my arm. :)

And that therefore, given this thread is about "explaining the vinyl resurgence," attempts at simplistic, reductive "explanations" - e.g. "it's just hipsters and nostalgia" - will necessarily be misleading.

(And sometimes, unnecessarily disparaging).
 
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MattHooper

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Great, thank you, nothing like data to shed light .
Extract.
“the much talked-about record resurgence is driven not by a boom in millennials who want to embrace the novelty of a physical item, but by midlife nostalgia. Those who have recently purchased a vinyl album are most likely to be aged between 45 and 54, apparently. In fact, those in the 18-24 age group are the least likely.”

“According to a new ICM poll, nearly 50% of vinyl buyers are under the age of 35. Approximately 16% of people buying vinyl records are aged 18-24 and 33% are aged 25-34. That flies in the face of previously-held notions of the typical vinyl buyer. One stereotype is that baby boomers are rushing back to record stores to relive their younger years. Indeed, many older people trashed their vinyl collections in the 90s in favor of CDs, and sorely regret that decision. And make no mistake: the older set is buying vinyl records. But they’re actually outnumbered by younger people who weren’t around during vinyl’s original heyday.”

Data is always good. There's also articles like this:


The Guardian writer had an angle though seemed to conclude buyers were pretty mixed.

For a much larger selection of anecdotal data on who is in to records today, try going to Youtube and typing in "My record collection."
 

SIY

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Data is always good. There's also articles like this:


The Guardian writer had an angle though seemed to conclude buyers were pretty mixed.

For a much larger selection of anecdotal data on who is in to records today, try going to Youtube and typing in "My record collection."
Daryl Huff would have been proud of that headline.
 

JP

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(my emphasis)


Exactly.



My position is that there is a list of reasons people like vinyl that is about as long as my arm. :)

And that therefore, given this thread is about "explaining the vinyl resurgence," attempts at simplistic, reductive "explanations" - e.g. "it's just hipsters and nostalgia" - will necessarily be misleading.

(And sometimes, unnecessarily disparaging).
You seem to always miss the important parts.
 

MattHooper

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You seem to always miss the important parts.

It seemed to me your post essentially summarized your view that there were many, varied reasons why people like vinyl.

I was agreeing with that summary. (And that would, I assume as I've already said before, include some motivations based on misinformation or biases - e.g. "vinyl is sonically superior...")

If that wasn't the obvious, "important" part of the point you were making, could you clarify what it actually was? Thanks.
 
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Ralph_Cramden

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Having a big square foot of real estate for the cover photos doesn't hurt.

18121900_10211090538773121_6224352042849109380_o.jpg
 

Robin L

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krabapple

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(my emphasis)


Exactly.



My position is that there is a list of reasons people like vinyl that is about as long as my arm. :)

And that therefore, given this thread is about "explaining the vinyl resurgence," attempts at simplistic, reductive "explanations" - e.g. "it's just hipsters and nostalgia" - will necessarily be misleading.

(And sometimes, unnecessarily disparaging).

I think it'll take at least another 12 pages of posts to get to the bottom of it. Do carry on.
 

MattHooper

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I think it'll take at least another 12 pages of posts to get to the bottom of it. Do carry on.

Ha. I think the question was mainly answered by page 2. (13 members so far seem to agree). But a few seem to keep arguing otherwise, so here we are. Such is the nature of hobbyist forums.

Glad you stuck around for 12 pages. Can we count on your contribution on the 24th page too? :)
 

Ralph_Cramden

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Too much extra money? My daughter has the vinyl bug now and has pulled a few titles from my now diminished collection of a couple hundred albums but delights in finding a new pressing for $20 and proclaims to me that it was a deal!
:facepalm:
Point her to the Goodwill. When I used to search the bins for jazz LPs there, I encountered, more than once, teen girls looking for Sinatra albums. I haven't been for a few years, but LPs were $2 each.
 

Robin L

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Point her to the Goodwill. When I used to search the bins for jazz LPs there, I encountered, more than once, teen girls looking for Sinatra albums. I haven't been for a few years, but LPs were $2 each.
Back during the early oughts I was finding all sorts of vintage pop vocal on original issue LPs in the dollar bins at record shops and thrift stores. It was around the time my father died, he listened to a lot of Sinatra, Ella and Nat King Cole. It was easy to find music of my father's generation as my father's generation faded away. When I had stereo gear that played into the LP's strengths, those LPs were quite the wayback machine for me.
 
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Sal1950

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Having a big square foot of real estate for the cover photos doesn't hurt.

View attachment 197224
How can you even read those tiny things.
Now having it on a 75" Sony in UHD, that's the way to read the covers and liner notes. ;)
IMG_3130.JPG

Point her to the Goodwill. When I used to search the bins for jazz LPs there, I encountered, more than once, teen girls looking for Sinatra albums. I haven't been for a few years, but LPs were $2 each.
I think everyone's gotten smarter by now, LP's = big cash
 

iv0

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I can. It is called marketing. People are primed to think vinyl records are special and magical. They will restore the emotional connection with the music and make you feel young or cool or even both. You are not like everyone else, you buy and you own your music. You enjoy much higher quality. Streaming can never be as good as vinyl records, because is modern and easy. But you, you are not like them, you have no issue to spend money on craftsmanship and quality. You are not just mindlessly skipping tracks. You put a record on and listen carefully with your amazing ears and brains and drink something posh while you doing it. After 20 Minutes you stand up and turn the record around and think how special your emotional bond with the real, tangible music is. The vague and posh wording especially around vinyl contributes to the feeling of specialness and exclusivity. Also the Music selection …. You don‘t listen to electronic music, this is for the masses, your music comes from the 60s and older.

Expensive Cartridges, Needles, Belts that wear out and need to be replaced by skilled technicians. This ensures business for people selling and maintaining equipmen.

Expansive, difficult to copy media that wears out ensures business for the record labels.

Expensive Gear and Musik keeps you going to work. Going to work gives you purpose in life. You can identify as professional worker and be snarky about how special and unique professional worker you are. You can look down at those other, mindless, lesser beings that just stream music.

It’s a win for everyone.
 
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billyjoebob

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I can. It is called marketing. People are primed to think vinyl records are special and magical. They will restore the emotional connection with the music and make you feel young or cool or even both. You are not like everyone else, you buy and you own your music. You enjoy much higher quality. Streaming can never be as good as vinyl records, because is modern and easy. But you, you are not like them, you have no issue to spend money on craftsmanship and quality. You are not just mindlessly skipping tracks. You put a record on and listen carefully with your amazing ears and brains and drink something posh while you doing it. After 20 Minutes you stand up and turn the record around and think how special your emotional bond with the real, tangible music is. The vague and posh wording especially around vinyl contributes to the feeling of specialness and exclusivity. Also the Music selection …. You don‘t listen to electronic music, this is ffor the masse, your music comes from the 60s and older.

Expensive Cartridges, Needles, Belts that wear out and need to be replaced by skilled technicians. This ensures business for people selling and maintaining equipmen.

Expansive, difficult to copy media that wears out ensures business for the record labels.

Expensive Gear and Musik keeps you going to work. Going to work gives you purpose in life. You can identify as professional worker and be snarky about how special and unique professional worker you are. You can look down at those other, mindless, lesser beings that just stream music.

It’s a win for everyone.
Tell me where this marketing is?
I have yet to see it.
Sounds like a baseless rant.
 

Sal1950

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charleski

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It would be a mistake to assume that all the people turning to vinyl are Fremerista vinylphiles who buy expensive systems and obsess over the setup. Let me use my sister as a case study:

She ‘got into vinyl’ because her partner has an old collection of records from the ‘80s. They were living in Hackney at the time and he bought her a Crossley (!!!) suitcase-player. When they moved to Norfolk this was merged with his ancient Technics deck that’s plugged into an old Kenwood receiver. When I visited last Christmas I finally managed to persuade them that it would sound a lot better if they moved the speakers out from under the coffee table…
 
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