ARE VINYL RECORDS BACK FOR GOOD THIS TIME?

THE STRANGE BUT WELCOME RESURGENCE OF VINYL It’s actually really hard to recall when the vinyl trend started as it was about 80 years ago in about the 1940s when the hype and publicity behind vinyl records started to pick up pace and ramp up till the late 80s and till their eventual “demise” in 1998 when sales of other types of media finally overtook vinyl record sales. Fast forward about 21 years later, vinyl is back in the music game and they’re back with a bang. I mean it was a farfetched idea on its own that in this growing age of modernization and digitalization that something so trivial and old can make a series comeback and strong impact so many decades later as well. It is a revolutionary time when you have handheld and cloud devices with all your favorite music on them just ready at the command of a button or touchpad etc. but despite all this, there certainly is hope for vinyl records after all as there is an ever far-reaching audience which wats to relive the old tangible feeling of holding a vinyl record with our very own hands and to reconnect with our past. According to the Rolling Stone magazine, the recent vinyl sales in America are soaring at about 8.6 million units and significantly closing the gap on the cd sales which stand at about 18.6 million units sold last year. Should these trends continue then we can sure of one certainty that the vinyl sales will surely outsell its cd counterpart with a significant margin which is a brilliant achievement on its own. Elsewhere in the UK, figures show that vinyl sales did fly past regular cd sales and hitting the 2.5 million mark at the start of December last year. This figure, when compared to the 2.1 million of the digital sales, is astonishing to see. But December and revival in product sales can also be linked to the added effect of Christmas as it means people could be buying the records as gifts intended for loved ones but even if that’s the case it’s an indicative sign of what could become of vinyl records eventually. It certainly does mean that there is a considerable portion of people who are leaning more towards old school methods of listening to music. Speaking to the Guardian, chief executive of the Entertainment Retailers Association Kim Bayley said: The vast majority of releases are coming out in vinyl now. It used to be that only heritage acts or niche albums would come out as a record, but now everything does pop albums, compilations, film soundtracks, all genres. This might be due to the case that a newer and younger generation is invested in this trend of 80s and aesthetics as it’s the new cool these days to be old school. People who are under the age of 25 may want to listen to their specific choices in music on something more palpable and existent rather than on the cloud. It also makes for an excellent collectible item as well if you’re into that kind of collectible items as a memento or a memoir to look back at fond memories associated with that song etc. some people also share the fan following philosophy that they have o show love to their favourite artist by having to remember their work by. Technically discussing, the question at the heart of vinyl records is just what is so desirable in these objects of music which enable it to be better than all the present modern ways to listen to music nowadays. Turns out that owning these records can improve your handy knowledge about music in general which helps if you’re a music buff. Similarly, it’s crazy to imagine that you’ll find The Weekends latest album or songs on vinyl now and that is also the case but something with a heartier soul and artistic or classic most certainly can be found on vinyl records easily. And this might surprise you but, that classical records might not be available online or at least in the audio quality it deserves to be listened in. Mind you this is al very subjective and differs from person to person according to their personal pre-sets on musical tastes Speaking of audio quality, the mp3 files usually found digitally are not always up to par and can hamper your experience as the files are compressed for the digital. In the case of vinyl, all is preserved, it will sound good even multiple decades later as well. The overall experience of hunting down the special, close to heart vinyl can be an exhilarating experience and it can make your days livelier when you go down to your local store just for the vinyl. Need I say if you actually got something that special, it should deserve special care and attention for it to be actually preserved to enjoy it for later times and proper storage in a vinyl case is of absolute necessity and be sure to check some vinyl storage cases out just in case.