CNBC: Why Millennials Are Buying More Vinyl Records

[Bill Hart]

The kids I see at record stores aren't buying 50.00 vinyl. I usually see them routing through the bargain bins.

Probably where you'd find me, too. (And not because I'm cheap).

 

[Frank750]

I don't care who's buying, selling or trading vinyl, I just hope it continues. I'm content to buy reissues because I think they're getting better and better. And whoever thought we'd see the shear volume of new releases coming now. I'm sitting here listening to a newly purchased reissue of Simon and Garfunkel - Concert in Central Park from 1981 and it sounds spectacular! It's a great time to listen to music on vinyl! Doesn't matter to me how we got here, I'm just grateful for the opportunity to enjoy all of this wonderful music on vinyl after I thought the format was DEAD.

 

[Steve Williams]

Totally agree Frank. I've only listened to vinyl exclusively since June

 

[KeithR]

Bold statement that I totally disagree with, but we are both speculating.

The industry has shrunk by half in the past 10 years. Analog can draw folks back into dealers as many would prefer expert setup.

several new dealers in SoCal are selling vinyl as well- smart move. The spotify gang isnt rushing out to the store.

 

[Bill Hart]

Maybe they have already seen the light and are having musical experiences that are just fine on their less than stellar hardware. It's conceivable. Don't forget that "audiophiles" are an (obsessive compulsive) anomaly (and small majority) among music lovers. The majority of people (millenials and otherwise) fully appreciate music on their crappy systems, and consider spending inordinate amounts on hardware to squeeze a bit more resolution out of their reproduced music complete insanity (which for them it is).

This does not mean they have not seen the light yet. In fact, they have seen the light (i.e. appreciation of music), but it not the audiophile light. I'll go further and propose that some music lovers living in the darkness with crappy systems actually appreciate music MORE becuase they are not distracted from the music by concern about the state of their audio system and the sample rate of the recording they are listening to. Not diminishing the genuine love of music that is no doubt inspiring the majority of audiophiles to build their systems, but let's not diminish others that don't share our passion for gear and technology (because let's face it - we do).

Funny. I agree. I was describing elsewhere my experience when Led Zep 1 first came out- I had a crappy suitcase stereo; I jacked the output into a musical instrument amp, and then into a tall multi driver speaker cabinet I used for sound reinforcement (I played then). I can't tell you how much joy I got out of cranking the **** out of that album over a rig that was barely above Goodwill quality. Fast forward to now. Same album- (well, a few different pressings and not that very copy); one tube from the preamp is probably worth more than the whole 'kid' rig.
Measure of enjoyment, 46 years later, with all my years of audiophilia- almost the same as 1969! And I still have records from the era that I can play once I got a 'real' turntable- an AR XA, a year or so later. So, in terms of measuring joy, it almost doesn't matter, as long as the records aren't destroyed. And I go through hundreds and hundreds of used records, sometimes in a month, many of which probably had little better treatment by others from the late '60s being played over crappy systems- they survived, clean up in many, not all instances, and play great. No great truth here, other than whether you get the kick. If you don't, and have to chase the devil to get there, so be it.

 

[Hi-FiGuy]

I love the record store experience way to much.
I was at Lost In The Grooves in Mt. Vernon this past Sunday (all used for now, new coming soon) and we all had a blast, spinning old 45's from the late 60's through the 70's piped through good old fashioned giant Cerwin Vegas. The owner went total DJ on us calling it the AM Gold set.
Everyone was sharing memories of times past, educating the younger ones. We were all scooting around the store smiling and laughing.
This was not a planned event it just broke out!
At one point he did a accidental needle drop about 5 seconds in, needle hit the record and bounced up, less than a second and I named that tune in one note.
I love to sit and just listen to music, but I believe that what happened in that store is WHAT the music experience is about and prefer that to sitting in a dark room by myself.

 

[thedudeabides]

I haven't tinkered with my system in months, and feel no need to anymore at this point. So perhaps I am not a bona fide audiophile .

Same here. Feels good. No more "what if".

 

[edorr]

I haven't tinkered with my system in months, and feel no need to anymore at this point. So perhaps I am not a bona fide audiophile .

I believe you when you stop posting about the hardware and format side of this hobby

 

[taters]

The industry has shrunk by half in the past 10 years. Analog can draw folks back into dealers as many would prefer expert setup.

several new dealers in SoCal are selling vinyl as well- smart move. The spotify gang isnt rushing out to the store.

What new dealers are you referring to?

 

[Al M.]

I believe you when you stop posting about the hardware and format side of this hobby

What does one have to do with the other?

 

[KeithR]

What new dealers are you referring to?

Audio Element in Pasadena, Alma Music in SD, etc.

 

[Joe Galbraith]

I am glad to see that there is a new generation that appreciates the tactile experience of putting an LP on the table, sitting down with the jacket in hand and taking in the artwork and liner notes. More important, listening to and entire side before jumping up and moving on to something else. Downside as I see it: increased competition for quality used vinyl and the subsequent jump in pricing from places like Princeton Record Exchange.

The resurgence in the popularity of vinyl has also resulted in folks re-buying all the stuff they sold for pennies on the dollar to embrace CD and digital, only to discover that LP playback is "cool again"

 

[GaryProtein]

I am glad to see that there is a new generation that appreciates the tactile experience of putting an LP on the table, sitting down with the jacket in hand and taking in the artwork and liner notes. More important, listening to and entire side before jumping up and moving on to something else. Downside as I see it: increased competition for quality used vinyl and the subsequent jump in pricing from places like Princeton Record Exchange.

The resurgence in the popularity of vinyl has also resulted in folks re-buying all the stuff they sold for pennies on the dollar to embrace CD and digital, only to discover that LP playback is "cool again"

The tactile experience of putting an LP on a turntable has nothing to do with the music. With cleaning, playing with the tone arm, cuing it up, etc., it is just more ceremonial than playing a digital file. Going from one digital file to another in random and not listening to the entire recording is a problem of discipline and one's level attention. It is not part of the music. I don't give a rat's ass about the liner notes or album art. That's not the music either. I don't care what someone else thinks about the artist or their music. I make my own determinations.

Don't underestimate the power of, as you said, LP playback is "cool again" regarding album sales.

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

The tactile experience of putting an LP on a turntable has nothing to do with the music. With cleaning, playing with the tone arm, cuing it up, etc., it is just more ceremonial than playing a digital file. Going from one digital file to another in random and not listening to the entire recording is a problem of discipline and one's level attention. It is not part of the music. I don't give a rat's ass about the liner notes or album art. That's not the music either. I don't care what someone else thinks about the artist or their music. I make my own determinations.

Don't underestimate the power of, as you said, LP playback is "cool again" regarding album sales.

I completely disagree with this view. The experience/ritual of putting on an LP, clamping it down, cleaning it, lowering the stylus and waiting for it to softly settle into the groove is an event of anticipation, and adds to the overall enjoyment. That exercise may not be music but IMO compliments it significantly. And while I make up my own mind about what music I like or not, I appreciate reading the liner notes and where the album was recorded, who participated on it musically and from a production aspect, and various other bits of information.

 

[BlueFox]

How many times can you read album notes? I guess if your memory is poor then every time you play an album. That logic to rationalize vinyl reminds me of smokers who can't quit because smoking gives them something to do with their hands.

 

[KeithR]

I completely disagree with this view. The experience/ritual of putting on an LP, clamping it down, cleaning it, lowering the stylus and waiting for it to softly settle into the groove is an event of anticipation, and adds to the overall enjoyment. That exercise may not be music but IMO compliments it significantly. And while I make up my own mind about what music I like or not, I appreciate reading the liner notes and where the album was recorded, who participated on it musically and from a production aspect, and various other bits of information.

I don't read liner notes, but vinyl looks great on a shelf and is a natural conversation piece as well. Spotify isn't.

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

How many times can you read album notes? I guess if your memory is poor then every time you play an album. That logic to rationalize vinyl reminds me of smokers who can't quit because smoking gives them something to do with their hands.

No need to get condescending. My memory is just fine.

 

[edorr]

How many times can you read album notes? I guess if your memory is poor then every time you play an album. That logic to rationalize vinyl reminds me of smokers who can't quit because smoking gives them something to do with their hands.

If, as Johnny describes it, reading liner notes is analogous to "foreplay", it may be repetitive in nature, but it never gets old.

 

[still-one]

I completely disagree with this view. The experience/ritual of putting on an LP, clamping it down, cleaning it, lowering the stylus and waiting for it to softly settle into the groove is an event of anticipation, and adds to the overall enjoyment. That exercise may not be music but IMO compliments it significantly. And while I make up my own mind about what music I like or not, I appreciate reading the liner notes and where the album was recorded, who participated on it musically and from a production aspect, and various other bits of information.

Different strokes for different folks. You see that as enjoyment, I see it as wasting precious moments in my life.

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

Different strokes for different folks. You see that as enjoyment, I see it as wasting precious moments in my life.

Nothing wrong with differing opinions.