Midlife Nostalgia Is Driving Vinyl’s Comeback Written By Maria Alexander
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hirty years after Sony ceased vinyl production, the electronics and media conglomerate announced in 2018 that it would renew record pressings. Although the more convenient and fashionable CD largely replaced vinyls in the mid-1980’s and 1990s, the music industry has since moved to a largely virtual format. However, vinyl sales began to rebound in 2006, informally known as the start of the “vinyl revival.” In fact, vinyl sales have grown for the 15th consecutive year since 2006, a more than 30-fold increase, with over 60% of vinyl buyers over the age of 35.
The Sound Behind Behind the Boom
digital file is re-converted into an analog sound wave, leading to loss in audio quality. Similarly, before the introduction of lossless audio, digital streaming also led to quality loss. Because sound waves are directly engraved into the surface of the vinyl, no audio quality is lost in re-conversion. In addition, vinyls offer several advantages which lossless audio streaming does not. In contrast with the fast-paced culture of streaming, vinyls are an emotional investment for consumers. Many record enthusiasts, like George Johann, founder and owner of Ithaca’s Angry Mom Records, says that there’s an inexplicable mystique and warmth in vinyl sound. “I’m not sure what the science behind it is, but there’s just something there. Everyone always talks about the warmth. I think there’s a more direct, less tweaked sound,” Johann said. “You hear a good record compared to a really good CD and you just know it when you hear it. You just know it.”
Moving beyond the sound itself, the physicality of the product is refreshing in an increasingly digital world. Unlike Spotify and Apple Music, which make listening automatic with the press of a button, vinyl inFigure 1: Lossless input and digital output at different bits volves meticulous care of the record and its Although major streaming services such supportive audio system. Buying a physical as Spotify and Apple Music introduced product is also a clear display of the listenlossless playback this year, vinyls have his- er’s preferences and identity. torically offered the highest audio quality “I think people want a legitimate totem to for consumers. CDs register snapshots of hold onto the things that they love. Of all sound at a certain rate, or “bits,” which are the formats that you can listen to music, the then kept as a digital file (see Figure 1). record is the best,” Johann said. When CDs are read by a stereo system, the
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