And probably wondered: why it does not sound quite right.
Has vinyl peaked?
- Thread starter JohnVF
- Start date
And probably wondered: why it does not sound quite right.
Nope, didn't care. Sounded fine. Alignment was close but not exact or labored over and I just enjoyed the records for what they were. The music instead of the sound.
From what I see in the local record store I am frequent to, most people buy used records. And being in university town, most buyers are young student age guys an gals. New vinyl selection there is much smaller, and I didn't yet see anyone carring a new record to a counter.
I'm saying that I'm surprised we're at levels as low as 1997, as 1997 seemed like a rather bleak time for vinyl. I was into the record hobby back then and you couldn't find much of anything in stores. I wasn't yet really an "audiophile", but I spent most of my disposable income then on records. There were very few new releases of anything I was into then...I would have thought 1997 was almost the lowest point.
Scuzzer
Fixed Bias
Me too. I'm used to seeing graphs like this which lead me to believe we're better than the early 90s volume. I guess different data is used between them so I'm not sure how to compare.
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sheltie dave
Addicted Member
I wouldn't say that new record sales are at the point where the revenue will keep stores open. We are at one store left in St. Louis whose main revenue is chiefly from new record sales. We have five universities/colleges in St. Louis, and one "new" record store. At least we have had two record stores that closed last year. I would call that backwards sustainability.
deeezy
Active Member
This is an excellent point. I have personally witnessed 3 instances of kids (18-22yo) hearing vinyl for the first time. It is a transformational experience. I grew up with vinyl and cassette, so for me it wasn't a big deal to go back to all analog. But for these kids with their little computer speakers and ear buds, the look on their faces when they hear "Dark Side of the Moon" or "Revolver" as they were meant to be heard is priceless.
I'm going to set up a vinyl rig for my youth pastor's girlfriend tomorrow, and I have to say, I'm excited about it. I don't think that vinyl is just a passing fad for these kids. Of course, it will be for some. But many really do care about sound quality, and for the ones that can't afford top of the line equipment, a decent turntable with a decent vintage amp and some middle of the road speakers (all of which can be purchased for very little money) will give them more musical enjoyment than they will ever get out of consumer grade digital.
Whether high-end audiophiles are tiring of vinyl is another issue altogether. For me personally, I think it's much less work to flip a record than to have to pay attention to bit rates, loss/lossless, file type, etc. And if I were to go out on a limb and buy an expensive DAC, who is to say it doesn't become obsolete in a few years, with all the audiophiles saying, "yes, of course the DAC's of the 2010's were primitive, but the new yada-yada's sound fantastic".
You mean over an AM radio with a 6x9 under dash car speaker for the Beatles and when nodding from downers for Pink Floyd?
The same can apply to record playing gear: the latest turntable, arm, cartridge and phono stage. Those who worry about having the latest have ample opportunity with both analog and digital.
Downers were for Black Sabbath. Pot and acid were for Pink Floyd. That's why some old people still like listening to Floyd. The flashbacks are more interesting.
131east23
...near Frank's Pizza!
I'm 52 and my wife is 9 years younger then I am. We have an 8 year old son who has tons of friends with parents in their early 30's. At our house I have the components listed below in the main room; the speakers are hard to miss. And in the same room, in cabinets are 2000+ records. What is weird is that none of these parents in their 30's have a vinyl rig or own any records and none of them ever ask to hear one when they are over at our house. I get the feeling that they think vinyl is passe and inferior and I'm the weird old guy from another era with an outdated hobby.
Phototone
Super Member
As in almost everything else, internet marketing has caused the demise of so many local stores for almost everything..I don't think you can judge the health of a niche industry by its presence in local stores.
ra7c7er
Hoarding records since 1990
You should have a record playing when they come over. that's how I got my brother and sister hooked on records. Granted they can't afford a stereo setup yet but at Christmas time they both got records from me and have spent allowance money on records they keep at my place. Brother is 12 sister is 14.
sheltie dave
Addicted Member
Phototone, I realize the bulk of modern sales is via the web and mail. The only problem I have with that, is media mail is quite bad to albums. I have purchased five albums over the past two years by mail, and every single album has arrived warped.
A business model based on nonlocal contact, poor quality, and over $20 a transaction doesn't impress me as sustainable, but rather hanging on, so to say. I was much happier in the old day, when these albums were under $8 a pop, in a local store, with music playing on the stereo. There were college jobs to be had thirty years ago where you could make more than an album an hour. That isn't true today.
I think we are witnessing a boomer echo with records now. Us 50- to 60 something year olds are again buying some albums, and our college aged kids are "reliving" our college days and buying what we loved 30 and 40 years ago. It is a nice little marketing niche and trend, but it isn't turning into a huge marketing force on the music scene.
A business model based on nonlocal contact, poor quality, and over $20 a transaction doesn't impress me as sustainable, but rather hanging on, so to say. I was much happier in the old day, when these albums were under $8 a pop, in a local store, with music playing on the stereo. There were college jobs to be had thirty years ago where you could make more than an album an hour. That isn't true today.
I think we are witnessing a boomer echo with records now. Us 50- to 60 something year olds are again buying some albums, and our college aged kids are "reliving" our college days and buying what we loved 30 and 40 years ago. It is a nice little marketing niche and trend, but it isn't turning into a huge marketing force on the music scene.
Its mostly indie kids around here, buying bands that weren't around even 5 years ago.
I've only ever bought one record online. The fun to me is had in finding stuff in stores. Its not so much about the music contained on it, but about the record itself, where I got it, who I was with, etc. That is what separates it from digital for me. I have so many records now, though, that that sentimentality is really becoming pointless. And I always buy records around the same person now anyway.
Phototone
Super Member
Well, I do fall into the high end of your age group, but I (me, personally), have never stopped buying vinyl albums, some years few, some years many, and I have not received damaged or warped goods via mail order, but I have ordered from specialist record stores, not general marketers. Have you ever purchased from Acoustic Sounds? Very good company and service.
ra7c7er
Hoarding records since 1990
Ok after talking with a couple friends of mine on the topic of has vinyl peaked. I have changed my answer from "no I don't think so yet but the writing is on the wall" to "Yes it has".
This years RSD is going to be the start of the slide. It's to much to many and to quick. People were complaining last year that the RSD was going money over product and Black Friday last year just reiterated that sentiment. This year I see just as many people complaining about RSD and its massive amount of releases and jacked up prices for limited editions that aren't really limited edition as I do people excited for something. People are shutting it off this year and that isn't good.
Granted 90% of the hipster kids who got into records because it was cool or whatever weren't going to stick with it anyway but to see a massive drop like I think you are going to see soon is going to really gut punch the resurgence.
This years RSD is going to be the start of the slide. It's to much to many and to quick. People were complaining last year that the RSD was going money over product and Black Friday last year just reiterated that sentiment. This year I see just as many people complaining about RSD and its massive amount of releases and jacked up prices for limited editions that aren't really limited edition as I do people excited for something. People are shutting it off this year and that isn't good.
Granted 90% of the hipster kids who got into records because it was cool or whatever weren't going to stick with it anyway but to see a massive drop like I think you are going to see soon is going to really gut punch the resurgence.
I also don't buy those here (not you) who've said that because they see it as booming, that it's going to keep doing so. What brought this whole idea into my head was similar to what you're talking about here. Grumblings from people on the ground, not looking at sales charts. People I know that have been into vinyl seemingly forever saying they're over it, its just too expensive now, too hyped, repressings are spotty at best, and too much of a pain to get as good sound out of it (this last one from some audio guys).
Also, believe it or not, one thing that kept many people that I know interested was the NON-availability of things. The fun of the hunt. Now you can get almost everything you ever wanted, and if the hunt was what you liked there's not much point to it it now. The novelty is tarnished. I used to dream of finding certain out of print albums hidden in a stack of records. Now I can just walk in and buy that album at any number of places. Sure, they are repressings. But they're there.
Remember that often things don't just gradually decline. There's a bubble. Things reach a peak of interest and there's a sudden wave of popularity followed by a mass exodus of the people who weren't into it for the fad, and the predictable fade then of the late-joiners. You see it with bands all the time. It could just as easily happen with the records they're releasing. Eventually the original fans will come back after the hype fades and a more faithful but sustainable level will result.
FWIW, I've also observed the same thing with RSD. I got pissed off at it two years ago enough to not do it last year, and apparently last year was even worse. Obnoxious crowds, too little stock sold out by 8am, "limited editions" that would come back in almost the exact same edition soon after, etc...the effort to save independent record stores now acting in the money-grubbing manner that is what turned people away from the mass-market stores.
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