Vinyl is making a comeback

I would liike to thank the author of this article Kathy Rem and her publication (The State Journal-Register) for allowing me to reprint this great material. I love the stories about the resurgence in vinyl record sales, here is just another example. Hail Vinyl!

Vinyl is making a comeback

written by Kathy Rem


Crackle, crackle, pop, hiss.

That’s the sound of vinyl records making a comeback.

Fueled by nostalgic baby boomers, young people drawn to the obscurity of the technology, scratch-happy dance DJs and music aficionados seeking a richer sound than compact discs and downloads can provide, LPs — using technology dating back to the 1800s and Thomas Edison’s first phonograph — are taking the music industry for a spin.

“Vinyl has slowed down, but it’s never stopped,” said Mark Kessler, who sells both new and used albums at his Springfield business, Recycled Records. “It’s definitely making a comeback.”

Manufacturers shipped 1.3 million albums in 2007, a 36 percent jump over 2006, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, a trade group for the recording industry. Shipments of CDs during the same period were 511 million, a drop of 17 percent.

Kessler, who also sells CDs, tapes, turntables, comic books, furniture, cameras and all things quirky at his downtown store at 625 E. Adams St., estimates 20 percent of his sales come from vinyl records.

Sturdy wooden bins on the upper level hold 35,000 vintage 33s by performers such as Judy Garland, the Beatles and Marvin Gaye, while new recordings by groups like Metallica, Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead arrive shortly after they are pressed.

The old albums at Recycled Records are what got Tom Huber of Springfield into record collecting.

“When I was in high school, there was a ton of music I wanted but couldn’t afford to buy. I went down there and Mark had records for 2 bucks. My God, I could afford 2 bucks. I kept buying all the music I wanted,” said Huber, 46, host of the eclectic music show “Crop Circles” on WQNA-FM 88.3 and map librarian at the Illinois State Library. He owns about 3,000 LPs.

“The one thing vinyl has going for it is that it’s permanent. A lot of folks say they don’t know how long CDs will last. The coating that contains the data can come off,” said Huber.

But those with an ear for nuance in recorded music say the main benefit is the sound, described as rich, warm and rounded.

“Vinyl uses analog sound which is different than the digital on CDs. It has a higher signal-to-noise ratio. It’s not that you’re hearing better sound, you’re hearing more of it,” said music collector Greg Michaud of Springfield, who has all forms of music, including 5,000 albums.

With analog, a physical groove is etched into the record, which mimics a sound wave. CDs transform sound into digital bundles of information.

But playing vinyl on an inferior turntable, Michaud warned, won’t sound better than digital.

“If you compare very good sound systems, you’ll find in many cases the analog is superior. I listen to music as background when my wife and I are making dinner together and digital is fine. But when we’re really serious about enjoying a piece of music, we’ll revert to vinyl when we can,” said Huber, 54.

Kessler said some artists, such as Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan, are meant to sound a little raw, a shading best captured on vinyl.

“When you remaster that, then you lose that rawness. It may sound cleaner, but it doesn’t sound the same,” he said.

Another benefit of vinyl is the sensory pleasure of putting the needle on the record, admiring the often distinctive cover art and lingering over the liner notes.

“When you pick up a 12-inch vinyl LP, usually it has a photograph or graphic art on the cover. Open it up and there are elaborate notes about the musicians and who wrote the songs. Part of the vinyl experience is you get more information about the music. It’s hard to reproduce that with a CD,” said Michaud, an environmental consultant.

“Holding a record for the first time is exciting,” Huber said. “What will it sound like? Who wrote the songs? Who is playing? I think this is one of the reasons why it’s made a comeback.”

Added Kessler: “The cover art of the ’50s and ’60s is wonderful. You can actually read the liner notes without a microscope.”

For those who want to display cover art, retailers sell frames specifically sized for albums.

Kessler noticed an uptick in LP sales 12 to 18 months ago and predicts they will continue to grow in popularity for the next few years.

“It’s not cheap for the record industry to put vinyl out, and those guys aren’t idiots. They wouldn’t be pressing stuff if people weren’t buying it,” he said. Independent labels, he added, have never stopped pressing vinyl. The major labels now are offering more of it.

Last fall, online powerhouse Amazon.com — which has sold vinyl records for most of its 13 years — launched a special vinyl-only section. There are more than 202,000 items for sale.

And vinyl marketing is getting more sophisticated. Some artists offer free digital downloads to customers who buy their vinyl albums, a nod to buyers who want the sound of vinyl and the portability of an MP3 player.

New LPs sell for about $14 to $30. Vinyl 45s aren’t nearly as popular, but some new songs are pressed for collectors and for use in jukeboxes.

Vinyl, of course, isn’t all nirvana.

The sound can be marred by scratching and popping. A turntable is necessary, ruling out tunes for jogging and car rides. It usually is more expensive than other formats. And a big collection of albums can be cumbersome and weighty.
“If you have a lot of records in your house,” Huber said, “it’s not fun when you have to move.”

SOURCE: http://www.sj-r.com/features/x1366184043/Vinyl-is-making-a-comeback