Vinyl records have outsold CDs for the first time in 35 years. Once dismissed as a thing of the past, vinyl is back with a vengeance. How did this most peculiar phenomenon come about?
Love, love, love this deep dive! Also I was not ready to read that it’s been ~40 years since CDs made their debut. Now please do me a favor and tuck me into my hospital bed. It’s about time for the sundowning to kick in. 💀
Beautiful writing, Andy, and thanks for the shout-out! Happy to be your human teletype, as you jumped on this with alacrity (you were fast, too)! I kept thinking of a cartoon visual (and I'm not an artist) where a giant vinyl monster is dusting-it-up with a slightly smaller shiny, aluminum disc-monster, and ultimately wrestling him to the ground, or knocking him off his feet!
My favorite paragraph is the one just below the "Think BIG" pic with the record and tuner. You're so right about the nostalgia component. To many, nostalgia doesn't (and can't) enter the picture! And, your observation that many will only know streaming and vinyl, and will have completely missed that thing called "CD" (which will come to mean, for them, only the thing you can get at a bank!)
And, this: "Vinyl is both synonymous with novelty and going back to basics — a beautiful contradiction." T-shirt worthy! And, your creative use of alliteration.....nice!---
"No matter what happens, vinyl will always come back, victorious and vindicated, determined to have the last laugh."👍
.......As the Vinyl Monster turns and walks away, leaving his polycarbonate plastic foe whimpering with his fading long boxes!💿😢
I am surprised but not shocked. I mean, I didn't think that vinyl would overtake the CD format again, but I find it reasonable why vinyl has come back to reign. Excellent article!
That’s amazing! Love this: “Interestingly, some of the issues associated with vinyl, such as surface noise and inner groove distortion, are attracting an entire new generation of music fans who actually find comfort in the warmth of these “imperfections”
I think TikTok is having an impact on physical book sales too.
Love, love, love this deep dive! Also I was not ready to read that it’s been ~40 years since CDs made their debut. Now please do me a favor and tuck me into my hospital bed. It’s about time for the sundowning to kick in. 💀
Beautiful writing, Andy, and thanks for the shout-out! Happy to be your human teletype, as you jumped on this with alacrity (you were fast, too)! I kept thinking of a cartoon visual (and I'm not an artist) where a giant vinyl monster is dusting-it-up with a slightly smaller shiny, aluminum disc-monster, and ultimately wrestling him to the ground, or knocking him off his feet!
My favorite paragraph is the one just below the "Think BIG" pic with the record and tuner. You're so right about the nostalgia component. To many, nostalgia doesn't (and can't) enter the picture! And, your observation that many will only know streaming and vinyl, and will have completely missed that thing called "CD" (which will come to mean, for them, only the thing you can get at a bank!)
And, this: "Vinyl is both synonymous with novelty and going back to basics — a beautiful contradiction." T-shirt worthy! And, your creative use of alliteration.....nice!---
"No matter what happens, vinyl will always come back, victorious and vindicated, determined to have the last laugh."👍
.......As the Vinyl Monster turns and walks away, leaving his polycarbonate plastic foe whimpering with his fading long boxes!💿😢
I am surprised but not shocked. I mean, I didn't think that vinyl would overtake the CD format again, but I find it reasonable why vinyl has come back to reign. Excellent article!
That’s amazing! Love this: “Interestingly, some of the issues associated with vinyl, such as surface noise and inner groove distortion, are attracting an entire new generation of music fans who actually find comfort in the warmth of these “imperfections”
I think TikTok is having an impact on physical book sales too.
Great article, and thanks so much for mentioning me :-) I wish all my estimates were as accurate!