Believe it or not, vinyl is staging a comeback.
According to 2012 sales figures, vinyl record album sales in the United States jumped 17.7 percent to almost 4.55 million units. At the same time, CD sales continued to decline, dropping 13.5 percent from 2011 to 193.4 million units. Digital downloads continued to grow at a very healthy rate and now represent 37.2 percent of all music album sales. And download stores finally passed large discounters such as Target and Walmart with sales of more than 111.7 million units.
The bad news for the music industry is that overall sales declined 4.4 percent. But amidst all that data, the resurgence of vinyl looks impressive; especially because 2012 represented the fifth consecutive year of double-digit sales growth for a format left to die under the metal feet of the Digital Empire’s AT-AT. But does that mean that the renewed interest in vinyl and turntables is a rejection of MP3s by 20-somethings, or is this just another annoying hipster-fueled fad?
Having dug into the numbers and spoken with turntable manufacturers, we think it’s probably a little bit of both. The 17.7 percent jump in vinyl record sales does not include used record sales, and it’s unclear if the math also accounts for all online and indie label offerings. Vinyl still only accounts for 1.44 percent of new U.S. album sales overall, and the top selling album, Jack White’s “Blunderbuss,” moved a paltry 34,000 units. The second best selling LP? The Beatles “Abbey Road”.
In the U.K, the trend is even more encouraging for vinyl, as 2012 sales rose 15.3 percent from 2011 – this, at a time when CD sales declined 20 percent, downloads rose 15 percent, and overall music sales declined 11.2 percent. Only 389,000 new units were sold in Great Britain: The xx, David Bowie, Jack White, Adele, and Tame Impala accounting for the top 5.
On the hardware end, the number of companies manufacturing turntables, tonearms, cartridges, phono stages, and accessories has never been higher. But is this “growth” only being fueled by audiophiles who refuse to let the format die and are willing to spend thousands to dig out every last bit of music from the grooves of their favorite records? Or is it possible that a new generation of listeners weaned on MP3s, who, having already spent hundreds on a pair of headphones and even more on a smartphone, are suddenly curious to discover if music can sound better?
From the perspective of Mat Weisfeld, VP of New Jersey-based VPI Industries, it’s certainly a good time to be an established turntable manufacturer with a solid online and retail presence.
“VPI was started by my parents more than 35 years ago with our first three products being a record weight, table isolation base, and the HW-16 record cleaning machine,” said Weisfeld.
“Our business evolved into the manufacture of our own turntables, and we’ve never looked back with close to 100 dealers in the U.S. and exports to more than 65 countries. The U.K. has become a major focus for us with a new distributor, and we’re thrilled at the reception to our new Traveler turntable which retails for $1,300.”
“…when was the last time anyone ever walked into your living room, pointed to your iPhone and begged you to play it?”
“Vinyl has always been cool,” said Weisfeld. “Turntables have always been industrial art…when was the last time anyone ever walked into your living room, pointed to your iPhone and begged you to play it?”
When asked if he thought the emergence of so many new products was a good thing, Weisfeld was cautiously optimistic, but offered that the market is still quite small and that only established brands with strong retail and online support were in a position to meet demand. Online retailers such as MusicDirect, AcousticSounds and SoundStageDirect have become key to the long-term success of companies like VPI, Pro-Ject, and Rega. And Weisfeld concedes that a lot of new business is being generated that way.
“VPI built its business via the traditional high-end shop, and we’re always going to support our dealers who deal with the established audiophile client, but young listeners are intimidated by the atmosphere and prices, and are just more likely to buy something via the web. The used record stores that survived and are now also selling headphones and affordable tables and cartridges are going to benefit for sure.”
VPI is not the only brand doing well now due to the resurgence of vinyl. Weisfeld points to the success of Rega, Pro-Ject, and Clearaudio as evidence of that.
“There are a lot of really smart people creating some of the best turntables ever made right now, and when you include all of the great cartridge manufacturers such as Grado, Dynavector, Sumiko, Benz Micro, Lyra, and Ortofon, it’s probably the best opportunity you’ll ever have to enjoy vinyl and enhance your love of music,” said Weisfeld.
“The funny thing about our business is that while we sell a lot of turntables – the biggest selling item is still the record cleaning machine. People may find
it hard to believe, but we sell enough machines to keep the doors and lights on. The demand now is the highest it has been for years and our retailers keep ordering more. The new base is turning to the used record store and deciding that our $600 machine is actually a smart investment.”
The venerable turntable may never regain its position as the number one method for music playback but it’s clear that a new generation of music listeners is starting to realize that while one should never trust anyone over 30, their parents may not have been deaf after all. Just slightly.
Top image courtesy of Shutterstock/hurricane
Part of the reason for the growth of vinyl is that it comes with a free digital download card. For the same price that you pay on iTunes, you get a solid piece of art that sounds better than MP3s. And you can loan the album to your friend who wants to hear it. You can’t legally loan an MP3.
True, but unless the vinyl comes with a free FLAC download, I’m not interested in it. I’d rather wait for the HD version that I can buy and download.
Ian what’s your setup for listening to lossless format?
I have two Mac Minis running Pure Music 1.88 with external HDDs (and a Synology NAS drive) and a mix of DACs. Wadia 121decoding computer, AQ DragonFly, and the Schitt Audio BiFrost. On my desktop, I use a Samsung laptop with JRiver Media Center and a AQ DragonFly USB DAC.
Cool we can drag ours back out of the closet :)
There are plenty of reasons vinyl sales are on the rise. It’s true, sound quality takes on an entirely new meaning once you listen to vinyl through a decent pair of speakers. I’m a 20-something-year-old kid, but I have an admirable collection of music in both digital and vinyl format. I own White’s Blunderbuss, a couple jazz reissues, and yes, a few Eagles records (I’m not ashamed).
Vinyl is a niche, but unlike MP3 and CDs, one of the best parts about it is the hunt. There’s nothing quite like digging through bins of old records and stumbling upon a first pressing of “Let it Bleed” or “Bitches Brew.” I don’t think vinyl will be a short-lived fad at all — it’s simply a hobby that will fluctuate in popularity like anything else. Unfortunately, hipsters do kind of like it!
You nailed it very well. Vinyl will always be a niche market but it appeals to people on many levels. Before I travel to new cities, I research any decent record stores and try to visit at least one.
The sales figures are really positive news for the audio industry that has been stuck for a few years. Companies like VPI, Music Hall, Rega, Pro-Ject, and Clearaudio are being forced to expand just to keep up. It’s good for the industry. Fad or not.
Like a tube amp, the sound quality just doesn’t compare. I’d take vinyl over MP3 any day of the week & twice on Sunday.
Always had one, always will!
I have had a Rega Planar 3 for years and love the sound of vinyl. I am now a proud owner of a VPI Traveler … Waiting for my Sumiko cartridge to arrive before I can experience audio bliss :-)
Vinyl and reel to reel have the sound as it should be. CD and digital cannot duplicate. Never stopped using them
You’re about 2 years too late.
Are these new vinyls or used? Not to many are pressing them anymore.
Bryon
http://www.deephouselounge.com
While there are not as many plants pressing vinyl anymore, the selection of new albums is still really impressive. If you don’t count the audiophile labels which are reissuing a lot of older albums, there is still enough to make it viable. I’ll likely add 30-50 new releases this year alone to my vinyl collection which is more than I can say about CDs.
I almost bought one of them fancy record washing machines. They sum up what is so great about vinyl, listening is just a tiny fraction of the experience. When I’m listening to my records they command my full attention vs. other formats that are a lot more likely to fade into the background.
The TT world is still strong in DJing, I use them with Serato.
I love 33 1/3….love the sound….
i was raised with vinyl. didn’t like it then, don’t like it now
Don’t call it a comeback. They’ve been here for years.
I don’t get this. There’s no sense in reverting to an inferior technology.
I’ve never been without a couple of them. Still got dozens of LPs , mostly disco.
you think?
Can it use a carbon nanotube needle? That would be cool!
Fact: vinyl sounds superior. There are digital options to make music sound more like vinyl. I hope vinyl and film photography make a come back (and yes, film photography still has superior resolution and tone to anything digital).
vinyl FTW~
As one who grew up with vinyl, I am amazed that anyone would look at that medium with nostalgia or pleasure. The constant hissing, popping, and scratches were annoying at best (although I believe they are the source of the “warmth” some believe vinyl possesses). My favorite type of music — classical — is much better on audio CDs than it ever was on vinyl. That said, classical on MP3 CD is not a good thing. (Where are the horns?) Nor is a poor-quality CD on a poor CD player. But put a great CD on my Denon CD player, and you suddenly hear chairs in the orchestra creaking, which is far superior to listening to pops on vinyl.
Sigh….The constant hissing, popping, and scratches were were the result of bad records and an even worse system. Poor quality in ANYTHING would be less enjoyable. You can’t disregard an entire medium because you had sub par products. That’s like riding a bicycle, for the rest of your life, because YOUR car was a lemon.
Sigh indeed. I actually enjoy the process of cleaning my new finds and playing them for the first time. Good point.
With so many things to entertain us at home (Netflix, Hulu, 100s of cable channels, video games), people just don’t listen to music at home like they used to. Most people I know listen to music in the car and at work. Obviously, neither situation is practical for using vinyl records, especially the car where road noise makes it hard to hear the nuances of the music. That is why portability becomes more important than having the purest audio quality.
I agree that people have many options today that didn’t exist when vinyl was the primary source. Most families have two parents who work, after-school activities, and taking the time to sit down and relax with music is often next to impossible. I use my iPhone all day long and listen to music in the gym and stream from my phone to a soundbar in the bedroom at night so it’s a point well taken. I think vinyl’s charm (aside from the great sound quality if you do it right) is that it requires effort. You have to flip through your collection, take the record out of the sleeve, clean the record (if you’re a tad anal as I am), and then put it on. Reverse process (minus the cleaning) once it’s done. There is a connection to the music because you cared enough to do all that to just put it on.
awesome!
The warm sound of vinyl just can’t be replicated on digital formats.
They always been cool 1200s forever