Dear Listeners,

My flatmate recently bought his first vinyl without actually owning a vinyl player, which is apparently very common as 50% of the Americans who bought a vinyl last year didn’t have a player. Fortunately, and for my greatest pleasure, he very rapidly bought a record player (and many more vinyls as you can see).

In this new edition, let’s dive into the world of vinyls.

🗞️ Music Industry News

Vinyls are back! But for how long?

Listen along the updated playlist on Spotify while you read

📈 The Vinyl Resurgence

Vinyl sales grew by 30% per year on average over the last 10 years. This figure seems incredible when you know vinyls were the primary medium used for listening to music until the CDs surpassed it in the 1980s. It’s even crazier when you know the vinyls costs around 25€ for a new album released recently from any artist while the price of Spotify account is 10,99€ per month.

With internet, CDs became obsolete as well, and vinyl sales now even surpass CD sales in the US for the first time since the late 1980s. However, vinyl sales are still far from their peak in the 1970s (graph). This graph looks at data from the US, but it tells a similar story in most countries with some exceptions. In Germany for instance, there was a small peak in the 1990s with the emergence of the rave and techno scene as DJs used vinyls but it then also experienced a downturn in the 2000s.

Young generations are the ones that led this revival and as I said in the intro, it’s incredible that around half of the people who bought a vinyl in the US last year didn’t have a vinyl player.

🫶 Superfans

There are several reasons why people and especially music fans, or super fans as the industry calls them (you can find a description here), are attracted to vinyls. These super fans want to show & share their passion to others, have a sense of community and want a deeper connection with the artists they love. As music consumption became totally immaterial with streaming, (super)fans are ready to spend money for vinyls. It’s also one of the reasons why artist merchandising is also booming, but we’ll talk about merch in another edition.

Why vinyls?

1. Sound quality is better with vinyls. Although it is debatable, vinyl records are analog recordings that capture the continuous waveforms of the original sound which gives a warmer, more life-like sound. CDs on the other hand, are digital recordings and have a better quality from a purely technical standpoint (analog vs. digital). However, there is a difference between technicality and how it sounds, and it also depends how the artist recorded the album. Many people still prefer vinyls as they offer more authentic and raw listening experience.

2. Great decoration and object

3. You get unique and collectible editions, with more artwork in a vinyl with special posters, sometimes the lyrics or pictures

4. A great gift

Looking ahead

The vinyl resurgence brings its own set of challenges. Limited pressing plants, the surge in commodity prices post-COVID and the slower process for artists not under major labels to press their records often lead to significant delays. However, there are other positive developments to take into account such as the customisation, with personalised vinyl records or a better integration with digital content.

This trend comes with a lot of benefits. Independent record stores play a major role in this revival, acting as a hub for music enthusiasts. And vinyls is another way for providing better compensation to artists compared to streaming which elevates its appeal and sustenance in the industry.

Thank you for reading and see you soon for a next edition! I’ll leave you as always with the updated playlist and my favorite tracks released so far this year