New Vinyl Website Focuses on the Social Elements of Records and Music

written by Robert Benson


Well, we made it. The vinyl record revival is in full swing. With many mainstream artists issuing new releases via the format and independent artists following suit, it is a great place in music history. Add to this the numerous reissues of classic LP’s and the vinyl comeback is complete.

Along with the vinyl revival are new Internet web sites that cater to collectors and music lovers. One such site that has just launched is www.NYLVI.com, is social marketplace that will support independent artists, labels and record stores and will aid in the spreading of musical innovation to the global community of music lovers and record collectors.

I spoke with NYLVI co-founder Ivar Lien about the goals, ideals and values of this new, growing vinyl record community:

There are many vinyl sites on the Internet today, what will set yours apart from the others- what will make you unique?

We think there are two main aspects that set us apart from other sites. First of all, we have structured our marketplace to reflect the world's major music scenes. This we hope will make it easier for users to discover more new music and that local artists will be able to find a bigger audience. To make this possible we are cooperating with some of the finest bloggers from these scenes, so previews of all their posts can be read on our scene pages. Instead of creating distant editorials and boring recommendations, we think it's much better to give the word to local experts, who participate in these scenes on a daily basis.

A second aspect we think set us a part from other services is how we emphasize the social aspects of vinyl collecting. We want to be something more than a simple marketplace. Through various features we want to include the users and enable increased interaction. We want to be a community for music and vinyl enthusiasts, a place where they can meet, share and exchange knowledge and experiences.

Obviously, you and your partners feel that vinyl is a good niche to get into, but why the interest in vinyl- where do you see the vinyl record in, let's say ten years from now?

NYLVI is definitely all about vinyl. We love pretty much everything about the format, but also part of the reason we have started a business focused exclusively around vinyl is that we think it's very compatible with the digital future of the music industry. In the next years we think vinyl's position is going to grow much stronger. In music and art in general, it seems like it's a strong movement away from postmodernism and over to what Bourriaud has called the altermodern, where more art is made as a protest and reaction against standardization and commercialism in an increasingly globalized world.

Digital music enables fast and easy sharing between people, which we love, but it also makes music and songs feel more like a commodity. The vinyl revival can be seen as reaction against this, where both artists and listeners appreciate the more exclusive qualities of the vinyl format. In ten years vinyl will still be a niche format, but hopefully a bigger and more vibrant niche!

Is your site 'modeled' after anyone in particular?

No, we cannot say that we have modeled our site after anyone in particular. Of course we have glanced at other sites for inspiration, however these sites span across a wide range. We have tried to take ideas from these sites and turn them into something new with NYLVI. The most important thing for us has been to do our own thing and create something that music and vinyl lovers hopefully will enjoy using. That said, we live in a time where speed of change is accelerating, and we constantly look forward and will continue to develop and improve to be one of the most complete and enjoyable places to buy music on vinyl.

So this will be a global site, encouraging members from all over the world?

Yes, part of what we found so fascinating with starting an online marketplace for vinyl was how we in a way would be situated at the junction between the global and local. Here users, artists, labels, record stores and collectors from around the world can come together and, by drawing on special knowledge from within local scenes, explore new music or discover old classics they have been looking a long time for.

What does NYLVI mean or stand for?

It both means and stands for VINYL first of all! But we also want NYLVI to be associated with the same values and ideals as your local independent record shop: knowledge, enthusiasm and love of music, support of artists and musical communities, and contribution to local variations and musical diversity.

What do you listen to, what is your kind of music?

Close to impossible to answer this. I guess we have an extremely broad music taste. We're big fans of garage rock, like the whole line of bands from the 60's like The Sonics and Chocolate Watchband and upwards with The Pandoras, The Lemon Spiders, The Fleshtones, The Fuzztones, The Cramps, Reigning Sound, Swingin Neckbreakers, King Khan & BBQ and Los Peyotes and, and, and.... But we are also big fans of African Funk and high-life music. I guess one of the records we have been listening most to this year is the Nigeria 70: Lagos Jump compilation, which is really awesome. And it's a lot of new exciting music coming out from London now, the outernational inspired artists like Roots Manuva and Radioclit have all been making really cool music lately. And there are so many other artists too from Bo Diddley and Bob Dylan to Momus, Xiu Xiu and OOTORUICHI. It's a long list.

So if you are a buyer or seller of vinyl records, NYLVI.com brings a fresh new online presence that will continue to bring the value of the vinyl record to the forefront, both musically and socially. After all, it is about the music and music is a social phenomenon in itself.