VINYL VS. STREAMIING Making the case for vinyl, a once forgotten format in the new era of quick and easy listening on streaming services by Jack Cleaveland
of the song or album in question is going to get a cut out of the total profit from the song. If you listen to this song on Spotify once, an independent artist f you look around the hallway at school, most if not every person wearing without a label or any collaborators makes about $0.0044. Now to make headphones is using a streaming service. Whether it be Spotify, Apple minimum wage off that one song it will need to be played 366,000 times. Music or Soundcloud, streaming services are the cheapest, quickest and Yeah, that’s a lot. Now imagine someone huge like Playboi Carti. Currently his undoubtedly the most convenient way to listen to music today. So, why song “Magnolia” has 342,248,579 plays on Spotify. Doing the math, Carti and would anyone want it to be different? his management have made approximately 1.5 million dollars off that song’s There are many reasons why someone may choose Spotify streams alone. Physical sales are another story. If not to use a streaming service. There’s sound quality someone releases their album to record stores on standard Where to Shop differences, more benefits towards the artist and a feeling 12-inch LP’s, those records are going to retail for around for records: of pride when one is in a conversation about an album and $20-$25. Let’s use Prince’s “Purple Rain” for this example. they can say, “Yeah, I have that one on vinyl.” Currently, the album is at 25 million record sales worldwide. Vintage Vinyl First, sound quality. While a lot of people don’t pay A rough estimate for the profit of that album is around Music Record Shop any mind to the sound quality of their music, it’s there. $562.5 million. So, it’s obvious to see that if you can get your Record Exchange For example, on Spotify, all the song files have been album in stores and people are buying it, the profit will be Discogs.com compressed to make the song smaller and able to be much higher. Euclid Records played back faster and easier. This compression process Finally, the pride that you feel when you own a record. Music Reunion is what makes your music sound different on your phone There’s something about listening to an album on a Planet Score Records than it does on vinyl. There is more flexibility to how much streaming service, falling in love with it and then going to a Record Reunion content you can put onto a 12-inch record than there is for record store and making the commitment to spending the Dead Wax a single song on a cell phone or computer since streaming money on it. It can make the album resonate in a different Slackers services have a predetermined amount of space a song can way once you can physically hold it, look at any exclusive take up. Compression reduces your music’s dynamic range: cover art or listen to any exclusive songs that only came out the variation between the song’s loudest parts and its quietest parts. on the album’s physical copy. Second, benefits toward the artist. Everyone knows the artists we look up All in all, whether you’re streaming your music or listening to all your to are pretty financially successful, but we never think about how the money favorite records, music is music. While streaming’s convenience and ease of actually gets to them. If an artist is signed to a label, they own the rights to access makes it a rational choice for the casual music listener, vinyl has higher the music and, therefore, they decide where and who the money goes to. The sound quality, record sales are more beneficial to artists and it makes you feel artist’s management, their label and anyone else involved in the production much cooler. jack.cleaveland@gmail.com | @Braackn
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ENTERTAINMENT | 11.20.19 | FHNTODAY. COM
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