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The Vinyl Comeback Is Stalling?

#41
Turtle71 said:
One thing I have found, is that some of the vinyl purchases I've made on Amazon also come with the "digital copy" as well, so I can download that to my phone or whatever, which is kinda nice since it's tough to play records in my car. :thumbsup:
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Good point, 90% of the records , even the reissues, I buy include free downloads of very good quality files (usually available in flac format).
 
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#42
Turtle71 said:
it's tough to play records in my car. :thumbsup:
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#44
Adding to my earlier comment, I prefer streaming - I love the access to so much music - but agree that the artists should definitely receive fair compensation for use of their music. I'm not blind to the faults of the service. Also for me I never really liked CDs. And that's where the rot set in regarding overlong releases. The pressure was put on artists to provide more tracks, where on vinyl 9 or 10 tracks was usually more than most artists could maintain quality control for anyway.
 
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#45
It's all so silly.

I was there, 3,000 years ago, when the record scratch that happened when you bumped the turntable became a new arrangement. In Al Stewart's "Year of the Cat," I half expect to hear an old scratch at the intro that should be part of the song.

Yes, I recall dropping the needle over and over and over again to try to learn a bass part.

I remember seeing cartridges at the end of twisted shiny arms with pennies stacked on them (not enough pennies, the stylus would skate across the surface of the album, too many and it would slow grind into the grooves.)

Remember the dynamic duo, "Wow and flutter?"

Even in laboratory conditions, albums found a way to get scratched. Every. time. Or you'd get an off-center punched LP that makes you slightly seasick while you watch the Elektra logo spin around at thirty-three and a third.

Remember the ever-diminishing dynamic range that happens when an artist jams 75 minutes of music onto a 45 minutes format (Genesis "Wind and Wuthering" is a great example).


Oh, the joy of getting a new album - SHRINKWRAP! MILD STATIC! That huge, often gorgeous cover (think "Smell the Glove.") A new album! "It's perfect! I'm going to go home and use my Maxell tapes to record this album, then surgically put it back in its sleeve (or buy a bunch of special non-scratching sleeves) and listen to the tape so I don't scratch/wear out the album. SO MUCH WIN!" Put in the cassette, push play, reach for the sleeved LP and enjoy that cover.




Yes, I was there, 3,000 years ago when the compact disc came out and we could NOT FREAKING WAIT TO GET ALL OF OUR MUSIC ON CD AND FLUSH LPs! (I still prefer CD to anything else).



The best thing about LP was everything OTHER than the vinyl record itself. The covers were glorious, and double-triple albums were the BOMB. Lyric that weren't printed on toilet paper sheets. Art! Design houses doing album cover art for large format albums - now THAT is glorious. That new album smell..... ahhhhhh

The vinyl LP itself, well, not so good. Scratched permanently by looking at it. Depending on the machine the album was cut on the quality could be divine or total garbage.


People got "ex-girlfriend" "ex-boyfriend" goggles on when streaming and think, "Hey, maybe LPs weren't so bad, yeah, I mean we'll be careful and treat them gently, and the analog quality is so much better than lossless garbage. Hey - - hey album - let's hook up again."

ALL OF US justifiably broke up from LPs to CD's as soon we could. It was because vinyl LPs sucked. We lived with them for decades, we knew. LPs did suck and they still do.

There's a reason they're an ex.
 
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#46
rtav said:
It's all so silly.

I was there, 3,000 years ago, when the record scratch that happened when you bumped the turntable became a new arrangement. In Al Stewart's "Year of the Cat," I half expect to hear an old scratch at the intro that should be part of the song.

Yes, I recall dropping the needle over and over and over again to try to learn a bass part.

I remember seeing cartridges at the end of twisted shiny arms with pennies stacked on them (not enough pennies, the stylus would skate across the surface of the album, too many and it would slow grind into the grooves.)

Remember the dynamic duo, "Wow and flutter?"

Even in laboratory conditions, albums found a way to get scratched. Every. time. Or you'd get an off-center punched LP that makes you slightly seasick while you watch the Elektra logo spin around at thirty-three and a third.

Remember the ever-diminishing dynamic range that happens when an artist jams 75 minutes of music onto a 45 minutes format (Genesis "Wind and Wuthering" is a great example).


Oh, the joy of getting a new album - SHRINKWRAP! MILD STATIC! That huge, often gorgeous cover (think "Smell the Glove.") A new album! "It's perfect! I'm going to go home and use my Maxell tapes to record this album, then surgically put it back in its sleeve (or buy a bunch of special non-scratching sleeves) and listen to the tape so I don't scratch/wear out the album. SO MUCH WIN!" Put in the cassette, push play, reach for the sleeved LP and enjoy that cover.




Yes, I was there, 3,000 years ago when the compact disc came out and we could NOT FREAKING WAIT TO GET ALL OF OUR MUSIC ON CD AND FLUSH LPs! (I still prefer CD to anything else).



The best thing about LP was everything OTHER than the vinyl record itself. The covers were glorious, and double-triple albums were the BOMB. Lyric that weren't printed on toilet paper sheets. Art! Design houses doing album cover art for large format albums - now THAT is glorious. That new album smell..... ahhhhhh

The vinyl LP itself, well, not so good. Scratched permanently by looking at it. Depending on the machine the album was cut on the quality could be divine or total garbage.


People got "ex-girlfriend" "ex-boyfriend" goggles on when streaming and think, "Hey, maybe LPs weren't so bad, yeah, I mean we'll be careful and treat them gently, and the analog quality is so much better than lossless garbage. Hey - - hey album - let's hook up again."

ALL OF US justifiably broke up from LPs to CD's as soon we could. It was because vinyl LPs sucked. We lived with them for decades, we knew. LPs did suck and they still do.

There's a reason they're an ex.
Click to expand...

Don't entirely agree on the substance, but this post is one fun read!
 
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#49
Sad to see music sales go down, but on the flipside: Good.

In a day and age where digital storage is so inexpensive and networks are so fast and reliable, physical media is about as relevant as using a sextant to navigate, or driving a Hummer in a crowded city. We don't need to generate more clutter and/or landfill material.

However, I do wish that the Spotify-type business model would go away for something more along the lines of Bandcamp (you stream x number of times before you have to buy the track or album).
 
#52
To be able to sit down and listen to a new album on vinyl while absorbing the artwork and information that the artist wants to include with the listening experience is, to me, the ultimate nostalgia kick. Nobody wants to do that with me anymore without playing with their phones also.

Yes, records deteriorate over time. That's part of the appeal, you only get so many listens before it wears out, but if you take good care of the record, that is a lot of listens and you should probably be moving on to new music anyway.

My old component system got fried in a thunderstorm and it took me years to get around to replacing anything. It wasn't that I missed hearing a song or artist since the internet has everything, but I missed that whole experience. Finally got an Audio Technica P60 turntable and a couple of powered Edifiers and though it's not an audiophile's dream, it sounds pretty respectable and didn't cost a kidney. Definitely not the only way I listen to music, but fun activity nonetheless.
 
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#56
It's really sad what hipsters do to just about everything. It came out in 1999, it's vintage. It is happening in the guitar world, the design world, the clothing world and the spare parts world of just about every field. It really screws we genuine fans/collectors over. Oh your stylus broke off? Too freakin bad, +$600 repair! I'm only exaggerating a little.
 
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#57
My kids have gotten into playing records, and I do have to admit that I really miss the tactile experience of playing recorded music.

What I don't miss is the dedication to equipment and media storage tied to the tactile experience of playing music. I may buy a record player at some point, but it'll have to be after we kick our kids out and have more space for our own stuff.
 
#58
brianrost said:
Here's a new piece from writer Ted Gioia who had written on the vinyl comeback about a year ago.

The bad news in short is the market growth for vinyl in 2021 was 95% and in 2022 only 4%. Although vinyl outpaced CDs in revenue in total units sold, when it comes to number of units sold CD and vinyl are still running neck and neck. The hyped cassette revival looks like, well, hype.

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Even worse he wrote this:
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I’m not sure where those numbers came from but it is telling that vinyl was the only format that had growth. As far as 50% of vinyl buyers not having turntables, I struggle with that but as someone else mentioned, it’s a pretty small survey and not knowing the particulars of the sample makes it hard determine reliability. There was an article in Variety that actually reported vinyl sales being up 22% in the 1st half of 2022 so I struggle with the 4% or whatever is listed.

Vinyl Sales Soared 22% in First Half of 2022, Per RIAA Mid-Year Report

I think vinyl is doing fine. I’m almost 50 & about 5 years ago went back to vinyl and love it. There is a bit of science to setting up a turntable, similar to setting up a bass. Good turntables will have a weight and require calibration to counter the laws of physics so that you don’t get all the aforementioned skipping & scratching. If you have a turntable without this the more dynamic or hot masterings are going to make the stylus jump & skip. Not all vinyl is the same either, masterings differ some are cut hot and others not so much. It’s no different than a bass rig, your tone will differ based on your instrument, amp & cab(s) no different with audiophile gear.
 
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#59
It has gotten to be far too expensive. I cut back on my new vinyl purchases by at least 75%. The used market has seen a ridiculous markup craze as well. It’s just not worth it at the prices they are asking. I look at stuff in my collection on Discogs and I’m shocked by the value of some of those records.
 
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