Vinyl is Not making a come back.
That's right, Vinyl records are not making a come back.
Because they Never Went Away.
Maybe it's because even when I worked in a Big Box Music Store/Mega-Corp Music Chain that I still shopped at independent records shops. Maybe it's because I'm a little psycho about listening to music. Maybe it's because I don't give much credence to the "news." But as far as I can see, they stuck around.
Records: LPs, 45s, Turn Tables, analog pops and hisses - never left.
Didn't go anywhere.
In 1995 I purchased the 4 disc Vinyl of Iron Maiden's "The X Factor" before most places even had the CD in stock. Not because it was some limited edition special release... but because I really really needed to hear the new album - it was the first one with Blaze on vocals - and I owned a record player at the time. (sadly, I no longer own a record player... so my vinyl sits forlorn, on a shelf above my CDs.)
Technics introduced a direct drive record player in 1969. They've been making and selling the things since - and are considered one of the best in the business. Business that didn't slack off in the 1990s when "The Record Was Dead"
Indie-Music. I buy from it whenever I possibly can. In the Denver Metro Area that usually means I'm in Wax Trax, Twist & Shout, Cheapo Discs, Second Spin and a few other mom'n'pops around town if I meander past one too closely.
Wax Trax and Twist&Shout didn't just have a section for vinyl - they had entire second stores dedicated to them. (Now that both have consolidated to massive single store environments they simply have two halves: CDs and Vinyl.) I dedicate most of my business to Twist&Shout these days, because it's really close to my house (9 blocks west) and I have a good friend that works there, so I pop over Sunday evenings every now and then and we chat for a bit. Then I buy some music.
I buy CDs. He buys Records. Almost exclusively these are our buying habits. Both of us take them home and load our music into iTunes. We both buy new albums all the time - he's not stuck in some past of used only. The biggest difference: he owns a stereo, I do not. Maybe if I owned a stereo I would buy more vinyl. Maybe.
CDs do take up less space, and my house is full enough as is.
Either way, Vinyl never died. You just can't buy it in the malls. And that's probably for the best really.
Because they Never Went Away.
Maybe it's because even when I worked in a Big Box Music Store/Mega-Corp Music Chain that I still shopped at independent records shops. Maybe it's because I'm a little psycho about listening to music. Maybe it's because I don't give much credence to the "news." But as far as I can see, they stuck around.
Records: LPs, 45s, Turn Tables, analog pops and hisses - never left.
Didn't go anywhere.
In 1995 I purchased the 4 disc Vinyl of Iron Maiden's "The X Factor" before most places even had the CD in stock. Not because it was some limited edition special release... but because I really really needed to hear the new album - it was the first one with Blaze on vocals - and I owned a record player at the time. (sadly, I no longer own a record player... so my vinyl sits forlorn, on a shelf above my CDs.)
Technics introduced a direct drive record player in 1969. They've been making and selling the things since - and are considered one of the best in the business. Business that didn't slack off in the 1990s when "The Record Was Dead"
Indie-Music. I buy from it whenever I possibly can. In the Denver Metro Area that usually means I'm in Wax Trax, Twist & Shout, Cheapo Discs, Second Spin and a few other mom'n'pops around town if I meander past one too closely.
Wax Trax and Twist&Shout didn't just have a section for vinyl - they had entire second stores dedicated to them. (Now that both have consolidated to massive single store environments they simply have two halves: CDs and Vinyl.) I dedicate most of my business to Twist&Shout these days, because it's really close to my house (9 blocks west) and I have a good friend that works there, so I pop over Sunday evenings every now and then and we chat for a bit. Then I buy some music.
I buy CDs. He buys Records. Almost exclusively these are our buying habits. Both of us take them home and load our music into iTunes. We both buy new albums all the time - he's not stuck in some past of used only. The biggest difference: he owns a stereo, I do not. Maybe if I owned a stereo I would buy more vinyl. Maybe.
CDs do take up less space, and my house is full enough as is.
Either way, Vinyl never died. You just can't buy it in the malls. And that's probably for the best really.