Vinyl Records
By Mike O’Cull
Friends and neighbors, vinyl records are booming once again. For the first time since 1986, revenues from vinyl records are larger than CDs. Despite the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, vinyl still grew an astounding 28.7% in 2020. Everything old is new again, it seems, and it’s a great day for music lovers. It’s become normal for bands and artists at all levels to have records for sale and new pressing plants are springing up to produce them.
A new generation of fans have discovered the pleasures of hard copy listening and collecting in a beautiful, enthusiastic way despite the instant gratification offered by the major streaming platforms. There has even been a surge of interest in cassette tapes, too, and they have become part of the DIY indie music scene, although not to the same degree that records have. Still, cassette-only labels are indeed a thing now and their releases have been embraced by many diehard music fans who long for a physical connection to the music they love.
The reemergence of vinyl records as a legit, commercial listening format is a whole lot more than hype. According to the RIAA, flat black platters accounted for better than 5% of all music sales and rang up over $600 million in the US, alone. Also, MRC Data shows that record sales have been growing for the past 15 years and are up a staggering 46% since the beginning of the pandemic. Clearly, records are still an important part of the music business and remain meaningful to listeners and consumers.
In the years following WWII, the dominant 78 rpm format faced stiff competition from two new upstart contenders: Columbia Records’ 33 1/3 rpm vinyl LPs and RCA Victor’s shorter 45 rpm singles. Industry predictions at the time were that LPs would triumph over all comers and Columbia would be the winner of any sort of music war. 45s swiftly vanquished 78s as the most popular format for single-song records but higher-priced LP records made more money. In 1950, Billboard Magazine reported 45 sales of almost $6 million in a 12-month time frame while LPs made well over $12 million during the same period. The writing was very much on the wall and RCA was producing LPs by the end of that year.
Fast-forward to the late 80s and vinyl sales are on the ropes and taking a beating from CDs and cassette tapes. The prevailing wisdom at the time was that LPs were losing relevance and would soon disappear. Record plants were scaling back or halting vinyl production altogether. Music was becoming a digital experience and clunky old vinyl records had no place in this bold and exciting future. Record stores (remember those?) were blowing out LPs for 99 cents apiece and converting their sales floors to CDs and tapes, pretty much showing vinyl the door.
Twenty years later, in a rapidly-changing music business, a crew of indie music sellers created and launched the first Record Store Day on April 19th, 2008. The national event led to a modest-but-noticeable increase in sales but opinions in the industry were mixed on whether or not it was due to RSD. It turned out that Record Store Day was a big deal and it became an annual celebration of all things vinyl. High-profile events and ambassadors/spokespeople like Ozzy Osbourne, Chuck D and Metallica did much to make buying records cool again and get them into the hands of younger listeners who weren’t around to witness vinyl’s decline.
In any case, vinyl records are definitely back to stay and have proven all their haters wrong. They are a 100% viable format that gives listeners a better-sounding, tangible way to jam their favorite tunes. The return of cover art large enough to see and appreciate is also cause for rejoicing. In many ways, digital shrunk the listening adventure and records and cassettes are restoring it back to its proper size. Plus, physical sales pay exponentially more than Spotify streams and better enable musicians to make a living from their work. Streaming isn’t going anywhere, of course, but neither are records. If you got rid of your turntable or never had one in the first place, it’s time to get yourself one and get in on the fun.
Check out Record Store Day on June 12, 2021 here.
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