- Vinyl’s rebound has lasted long enough to raise questions about how much further it can go. The pace of growth remains remarkable. After bottoming out at less than 1 million copies in 2005, sales of new vinyl albums soared to 9.2 million copies last year, according to Nielsen Music. And yet vinyl still makes up only a small niche: 4.5% of the overall U.S. album market last year, according to the Recording Industry Association Of America. Prices, meanwhile, have been climbing: The average vinyl LP grossed $23.84 last year in current dollars, based on RIAA data, up almost 40% from an inflation-adjusted $17.20 in 2005. Let’s see: rapid sales increases. Rising prices. All for a product geared at a relatively small segment of consumers who will pay for a commodity, music, that’s generally available for less — or even, legally, for free — in other formats. It doesn’t take an economics whiz to see the makings of a potential market bubble. If it pops, some indie labels, stores, and artists who helped foster the format during in its lean years worry they could be collateral damage.
I mostly purchase vinyl records to a) financially support small time artists I enjoy and b) discover new artists and music. How about you?
I've passed peak vinyl purchasing, and the article hits on why. I got into vinyl around 2004, newly out of college and gainfully employed. I used to go to my local music store, browse around for stuff is heard was good and leave with three records for about $50. I'd do this pretty regularly. The first thing I noticed was 2xLP albums that had no reason to be on four sides. They were also more expensive. This started the trend from $17 records to $24 records and started my decline. Where I used to get three records for $50, now it was two. I never had an iPod, and around this time I got my first smart phone and found digital music was portable, and as I get older doesn't sound that bad. Instead of two records I could buy five digital albums. That was when I switched to vinyl only for music I already liked, and that trend has only continued. I still buy vinyl, but it's less common. I got into the format because I liked it, and I still do. But all the gimics turn me off.
You can pack the grooves on an album and make a 2 lp set one but the audio quality is better if there is a bit of space between the grooves. In some cases they might be trying to rip you off but if a 2 LP album is on heavier vinyl you can count on the fact the decision not to cram every thing on two platters was to preserve sound quality. A friend of my step father who was a audio obsessed electrical engineer used to get upset over people cramming too much music on one LP. "All they care about is selling as many records as possible, wish they cared more about sound quality." Personally I'd rather save money and get a one LP record, it's the performance that matters to me not perfect quality audio.
I buy vinyl, and I am young enough that I've had an iPod since I was in 6th grade. These days, I stream almost all of my music. I tend to buy vinyl albums when it is a band or an album that I love so much that I want to physically possess it. Since vinyl is inherently less practical than modern music methods, I can't explain this desire, but it's a hobby and I enjoy it.