I'm glad you put your final sentence (just under your V.O.) in there. I wasn't clear, to that point, if Tiny Records could be played, at all, on a non-TR 'table or not. I couldn't quite grok how they couldn't, but, I figured, if TR wanted to, they coulda found a way to be exclusive to their brand o' 'table!
But, now that I think about it, if their 'table is just now being unveiled, the discs have been out for awhile, now! (Sunday morning, a tad slow on the uptake)! Anyhoo, the only way I would find this useful is if I was 50 years younger, had more money than I needed, and had a kid, and wanted to make this their fun, colorful entry-level record unit. At that point, it's not much different than my little first-try carryall 'table in the '60s, although, of course, that could play singles (it's main purpose, in my case....Beatles, y'know!) as well as albums.
I'm curious about the disc titles, though, and just how the TR company licenses just who and what they make their tiny discs of....which songs, etc? And, how vast a catalog is it, and is it going to get? Are there labels lining up to have their artists be featured, or is the TR company hustling over-time to gather signatures? Thanks, Andy, for keeping us up-to-date on what's trending!
Thank you, Brad! Yes, Tiny Vinyl records have been around for a while, and they can be played on regular players. In fact, that's how their audience was buying, using, and collecting them. Now apparently due to "popular demand" they launched their own player. I think their main target are those collectors who enjoy Tiny Vinyl but don't own a turntable to play them. I see your point about it having some sort of value as a toy for a kid. That's exactly the way I see it too. But some of these Tiny Vinyl enthusiasts are well into their 20s! The infantilisation of society in all its glory 😆
I think the main titles being released on Tiny Vinyl are singles by the likes of Ariana Grande, Olivia Rodrigo, Niall Horan, etc. Having said that, even the Stones seem to have succumbed to it! Here's a (full, I think) library of Tiny Vinyl titles: https://www.tinyvinyl.com/library
Thanks for being here and for your kind words and support!
Great! Terrific answer, and I appreciate the link! Label ho that I am, I'm anxious to see if I can detect a trend or a theme to the who and the why this artist or another. I may be thinking way too 20th-century-record biz here, but, as you suggest, it may be a lot more artist-centric these days, than "label has ownership and will license usage to TR." But, I do tend to live, far too often, in "the land of what might've been"---as you well know!😉
Yeah, there is no way I'd do this! I can't even imagine deciding to buy all of my favorite songs in this new format which could easily go by way of cassettes and 8-Tracks and be a short-term novelty cash grab. It's traditional players all the way!
Lol thank you, Taz! I couldn't keep my Latin temper at bay. Maybe in another life. The Tiny Vinyl phenomenon makes my blood boil 😂 Thanks for being here!
Of course this player is in partnership with Target. So stupid. My guess is a certain mega pop star, let’s call them Saylor Twift, will try to exploit this the way she did with the different vinyl gradients when that was the big thing. Collect em all!
Cheers, Marty! Yep, sadly that's the way it seems to be going. The image over sound is something that doesn't sit well with me. I know I'm getting old but at least the mega pop stars of the 90s (Mariah, Whitney, George Michael) could SING! 😂 Thanks for being here!
Right?! I think it's safe to say it leaves you wanting for more. At least that's how I would feel when spinning that tiny piece of sh!t 🤣 Thanks for being here!
I guess they would make sense as souvenirs but if you just bought in a store and not at a show.... Still, I don't understand listening to a record with only one song on it by choice when you live in 2026
You know I thought the whole idea of tiny vinyl was ridiculous. This takes it into absurdist territory. I feel sorry for the budding collectors that find themselves sucked into this proprietary black hole. The cost of entry may be low but the opportunity cost is so high. The whole thing a disgusting concept tbh.
LOL 🤣 I'm laughing because of your excellent word choices here. Ridiculous and disgusting concept is a great way of putting it! I also love what you say about the cost of entry being low but the opportunity cost ends up being so high. This is exactly the message I was trying to convey. Thanks for always hitting the nail on the head!
Curiosity got the best of me after reading your first piece. Only because I checked out the singles they had and there were 3 I wanted to get from some of my favorite artists! Pink Pony Club by Chappell Roan, Messy by Lola Young were two of them, and as I had the albums with the songs on them, I was hot to do a comparison. Found out right away that they do not work on the automatic turntables. The music is in the space that is empty on a regular record, so the arm lifts back up immediately… I do still have my suitcase record player that they will work on, but it was buried. So, I took my tiny vinyl to a vinyl night at the brewery.
The sound quality is much lower than regular vinyl, so immediately had to turn the volume up to hear it… friends said they had brought the same one to a previous vinyl night and had to do something special to get it to play - I can’t remember what it was at this point- so, they can be a little “glitchy” for regular turntables is what I’m getting.
I definitely won’t buy another one (may be tempted by a song/artist just for collecting??). Not going to lie, but I was a smidge tempted by the tiny vinyl player lol But, I would 100% rather spend my money on traditional vinyl. I wish they would bring back a decent priced 45! I’ve seen some artists putting them out, but at $12-15, which is a little steep.
Thank you, Kristin! This is very useful experience "from the field" 😁 I think it's great you gave it a try. Your point about automatic turntables is particularly revealing and worth bearing in mind for those who may wish to try Tiny Vinyl on their automatic turntables. I understand many automatic and semi-automatic turntables have a switch somewhere to activate/deactivate the "auto stop function" so that the needle keeps on "reading" the dead wax, although not every turntable will have this, and these switches are not always easy to spot (sometimes they sit at the back of the machine).
I can imagine the Tiny Vinyl sound must be think and weak when compared with a standard record. Still, good on you for putting them to the test! Thanks so much for sharing your experience here.
100% agree, this is nothing more than glorified e-waste.
Thank you, Howard! You couldn’t have expressed it more accurately. Spot on. Thanks for being here!
I'm glad you put your final sentence (just under your V.O.) in there. I wasn't clear, to that point, if Tiny Records could be played, at all, on a non-TR 'table or not. I couldn't quite grok how they couldn't, but, I figured, if TR wanted to, they coulda found a way to be exclusive to their brand o' 'table!
But, now that I think about it, if their 'table is just now being unveiled, the discs have been out for awhile, now! (Sunday morning, a tad slow on the uptake)! Anyhoo, the only way I would find this useful is if I was 50 years younger, had more money than I needed, and had a kid, and wanted to make this their fun, colorful entry-level record unit. At that point, it's not much different than my little first-try carryall 'table in the '60s, although, of course, that could play singles (it's main purpose, in my case....Beatles, y'know!) as well as albums.
I'm curious about the disc titles, though, and just how the TR company licenses just who and what they make their tiny discs of....which songs, etc? And, how vast a catalog is it, and is it going to get? Are there labels lining up to have their artists be featured, or is the TR company hustling over-time to gather signatures? Thanks, Andy, for keeping us up-to-date on what's trending!
Thank you, Brad! Yes, Tiny Vinyl records have been around for a while, and they can be played on regular players. In fact, that's how their audience was buying, using, and collecting them. Now apparently due to "popular demand" they launched their own player. I think their main target are those collectors who enjoy Tiny Vinyl but don't own a turntable to play them. I see your point about it having some sort of value as a toy for a kid. That's exactly the way I see it too. But some of these Tiny Vinyl enthusiasts are well into their 20s! The infantilisation of society in all its glory 😆
I think the main titles being released on Tiny Vinyl are singles by the likes of Ariana Grande, Olivia Rodrigo, Niall Horan, etc. Having said that, even the Stones seem to have succumbed to it! Here's a (full, I think) library of Tiny Vinyl titles: https://www.tinyvinyl.com/library
Thanks for being here and for your kind words and support!
Great! Terrific answer, and I appreciate the link! Label ho that I am, I'm anxious to see if I can detect a trend or a theme to the who and the why this artist or another. I may be thinking way too 20th-century-record biz here, but, as you suggest, it may be a lot more artist-centric these days, than "label has ownership and will license usage to TR." But, I do tend to live, far too often, in "the land of what might've been"---as you well know!😉
Yeah, there is no way I'd do this! I can't even imagine deciding to buy all of my favorite songs in this new format which could easily go by way of cassettes and 8-Tracks and be a short-term novelty cash grab. It's traditional players all the way!
Thank you, Dan! A short-term novelty cash grab is exactly the way I see it too. Image over substance. Traditional players rule!!
I love it when your Latino bursts forth. This whole Tiny Vinyl thing is beyond my comprehension.
Lol thank you, Taz! I couldn't keep my Latin temper at bay. Maybe in another life. The Tiny Vinyl phenomenon makes my blood boil 😂 Thanks for being here!
100% percent agree. It is a glorified toy and not remofely useful at all.
Thank you, Emm! Glorified toy is a great way of putting it. Thanks for being here!
Keep fighting the good fight for decent turntables.
Of course this player is in partnership with Target. So stupid. My guess is a certain mega pop star, let’s call them Saylor Twift, will try to exploit this the way she did with the different vinyl gradients when that was the big thing. Collect em all!
Cheers, Marty! Yep, sadly that's the way it seems to be going. The image over sound is something that doesn't sit well with me. I know I'm getting old but at least the mega pop stars of the 90s (Mariah, Whitney, George Michael) could SING! 😂 Thanks for being here!
Tiny vinyl sounds suspiciously like a CD except there's only one song on it. Sounds pretty annoying actually 😑
Right?! I think it's safe to say it leaves you wanting for more. At least that's how I would feel when spinning that tiny piece of sh!t 🤣 Thanks for being here!
😂😂😂 I'm dying
I guess they would make sense as souvenirs but if you just bought in a store and not at a show.... Still, I don't understand listening to a record with only one song on it by choice when you live in 2026
You know I thought the whole idea of tiny vinyl was ridiculous. This takes it into absurdist territory. I feel sorry for the budding collectors that find themselves sucked into this proprietary black hole. The cost of entry may be low but the opportunity cost is so high. The whole thing a disgusting concept tbh.
LOL 🤣 I'm laughing because of your excellent word choices here. Ridiculous and disgusting concept is a great way of putting it! I also love what you say about the cost of entry being low but the opportunity cost ends up being so high. This is exactly the message I was trying to convey. Thanks for always hitting the nail on the head!
This may be of interest to you! I meant to send it a while ago, but she talks to the person behind tiny vinyl: https://hervinyl.substack.com/p/tiny-vinyl-might-be-the-most-divisive?r=1iil3&utm_medium=ios
Thank you! I'll be sure to take a look.
Curiosity got the best of me after reading your first piece. Only because I checked out the singles they had and there were 3 I wanted to get from some of my favorite artists! Pink Pony Club by Chappell Roan, Messy by Lola Young were two of them, and as I had the albums with the songs on them, I was hot to do a comparison. Found out right away that they do not work on the automatic turntables. The music is in the space that is empty on a regular record, so the arm lifts back up immediately… I do still have my suitcase record player that they will work on, but it was buried. So, I took my tiny vinyl to a vinyl night at the brewery.
The sound quality is much lower than regular vinyl, so immediately had to turn the volume up to hear it… friends said they had brought the same one to a previous vinyl night and had to do something special to get it to play - I can’t remember what it was at this point- so, they can be a little “glitchy” for regular turntables is what I’m getting.
I definitely won’t buy another one (may be tempted by a song/artist just for collecting??). Not going to lie, but I was a smidge tempted by the tiny vinyl player lol But, I would 100% rather spend my money on traditional vinyl. I wish they would bring back a decent priced 45! I’ve seen some artists putting them out, but at $12-15, which is a little steep.
Thank you, Kristin! This is very useful experience "from the field" 😁 I think it's great you gave it a try. Your point about automatic turntables is particularly revealing and worth bearing in mind for those who may wish to try Tiny Vinyl on their automatic turntables. I understand many automatic and semi-automatic turntables have a switch somewhere to activate/deactivate the "auto stop function" so that the needle keeps on "reading" the dead wax, although not every turntable will have this, and these switches are not always easy to spot (sometimes they sit at the back of the machine).
I can imagine the Tiny Vinyl sound must be think and weak when compared with a standard record. Still, good on you for putting them to the test! Thanks so much for sharing your experience here.
Completely agree :)
Thank you, Rick!