This trend should come as no surprise. The growth of vinyl record sales has been steady for more than 15 years. Since 2016, vinyl album sales have increased by nearly 300%. In 2022, vinyl outsold CDs for the first time since 1987. Quite a difference from 2004, the time digital streaming and downloading was introduced, when vinyl records represented only .2% of the total sales revenue across all recording music formats!
Nostalgia is certainly one of the driving forces behind the vinyl renaissance, as is collector’s appeal. Record collections are a special kind of personal library, with albums passed down from others, obtained over the years, purchased from favorite artists, and found at treasured record stores. Some are valued for their covers and liner notes, some are special editions, some are just old favorites, some are new releases of now unattainable music, and others are exclusive artist offerings. Every album has a story.
Albums have their own aesthetic appeal, and opinions are strong about the quality of their sound. Even the pops and crackles are part of the appeal for many audiophiles. Even digital recordings have tried to reproduce it. Covers and many of the discs themselves are works of art, designed, photographed, or created by well-known artists and graphic designers. The liner notes are like a love note to the fans, and many albums have included special gifts like posters and stickers.
The music industry has responded to the increased demand for vinyl. Today more and more artists have turned to making vinyl part of their offerings with new music being released on vinyl or rereleases of older albums. Independent music stores that were going by the wayside are once again community gathering places and trendy spots to buy your tunes. The struggle to keep up with demand has resulted in the double the number of record-pressing plants operating in the U.S. since the number there were in 2015.
The bottom line may be that we’re simply burned out on digital. High-tech gadgets are updated too often and are just getting more and more costly. We want our phones to just be phones again, as can be seen with the current surge in popularity of flip-phones. We want to just sit and listen to records with friends. Local spots like The Nest and Dulce Dough with record players and a collection of albums to spin are in tune with that vibe. So, as Corinne Bailey Rae urges,
The more things seem to change
The more they stay the same
Don't you hesitate
Girl, put your records on
Tell me your favorite song
You go ahead, let your hair down
