In a rapidly modernising world where voices can be brought back from the dead to finish songs, and any song can be on any time and anywhere, a nostalgia for the more primitive forms of technology has taken over.
Since its first commercial release in 1895, the vinyl has been a staple in the music industry, remaining the dominant form of media until the CD took over in the late 80s. Then along came a new method of consuming music, one that removed the restrictions of only listening to one artist at a time, one that allowed for the music to be played in any order and escape the confines of albums: streaming. Platforms such as Apple Music and Spotify have, and still are seeing rapid growth at an unfathomable rate, with global streaming being up internationally by 30.8% in the last year and Asia seeing growth of 107%.
Despite this trend of music streaming, a significant resurgence in the sales of physical media has occurred in recent years, most noticeable in vinyl sales rising by 108% during the pandemic. This boom is still showing no signs of slowing down, as vinyl sales in the first half of 2023 were 21.7% higher than that of the same half of 2022.
Amy Britton, MA Journalism student and record collector, attributes the recent rise to the ability for young people to show off their music taste, as well as mentioning the artwork that comes alongside the vinyl (anyone who owns a Gorillaz record would certainly agree). As well as this she adds that “buying physical media is a direct way to financially support [your] favourite artist.” Her own personal reason for beginning a record collection comes from her father, who passed down his own collection and inspired her to fill in the gaps and grow the collection out. To anyone looking to begin a collection and support local business, Amy recommends the Record Collector on Fulwood Road for both CDs and Vinyl, remarking that the option for second hand albums allows one’s collection to be grown more affordably, adding the sentiment that she “could easily spend hours in there.”
There are definitely some key artists responsible for this growth in the sales of physical media, most notably pop superstar Taylor Swift who, thanks to her legion of loyal “Swifties,” was afforded the No.1 spot in vinyl sales in the US with 251,000 records sold. Other artists include indie-pop supergroup Boygenius, the alt-pop icon Lana Del Ray, and more classic artists such as Fleetwood Mac (whose album “Rumours” sold 103,000 copies this year alone).
The question is why? Why are we seeing this sudden boom in a media form that has long since been rendered outdated. Some may say it is the better audio quality- the wider dynamic range allowing for all the subtleties of the performance to be captured. Maybe it’s the more immersive, intimate experience of listening. One possible reason, that it helps support the artists more directly, certainly holds its merits when considering that direct-to-consumer sales were up by 26%.
Another record enthusiast, Naomi Godfre, Social Science student, spoke about her collection, which she also took over from her father, allowing for greater bonding over the music. She also adds that it is important not to underestimate the influence of the internet, saying “a few years ago it became a trend on TikTok, with people showing off their collections.” A short look into this confirmed it, with the hashtags ‘‘vinyl” and “vinyl collection” collectively having more than 9 billion views.
Mark Elliott is an employee at the Record Collector store in Broomhill, where the popularity of vinyl was attributed to the mass media attention, with events such Record Store Day alerting the public the “fashionable” trend of collecting physical media.
Mark said: ‘‘It is remarkable that half the people who collect records don’t even own a turntable according to a MusicRadar article. The ‘hardcore’ fanbase of vinyl collections are the backbone of the industry.’’
So given all these personal, and professional, opinions on the rise of physical media it seems obvious that the recent boom in record collecting is more than just a social media trend. Maybe it can be put down to a family bonding experience- both collectors I interviewed starting their collection from their fathers. It can also be put down to artist support, direct to consumer sales being at an all-time high. In my personal opinion, people will try to tell you that the sound is better or bore you with any reason just to avoid the fact that there is in fact no better reason to start a collection because it is simply cooler than streaming.
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