Music Fans Turned To Vinyl During The Pandemic

[boscy]

Vinyl record turntables seem to have sold out from big box music instrument chains such as Guitar Center, Sam Ash, and others.  The latest generation of Technics turntables are expensive and to assemble a system consisting of a high-end turntable, phono cartridge, phono preamp, amplifier, and speakers can quickly become very expensive.  The new vinyl records seem to be flying off the shelves at Guitar Centers, WalMarts, Targets, and wherever new ones are sold.


Feb 28, 2021

Forbes


RIAA Revenue Numbers Show That Music Fans Turned To Vinyl During The Pandemic

by Bill Rosenblatt

The RIAA released its annual music industry revenue numbers for 2020 last Friday. These numbers, which the RIAA has published every year since the 1970s, are great barometers of the health of the recorded music industry. They’re especially interesting now as an indication of how the industry has fared during the pandemic. Last year’s numbers indicate that people are investing more in their vinyl collections now that they’re stuck at home.

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[bigd79]

When i first started getting into music, cassette tapes were the main form of media. I don’t even remember vinyl being in stores but its possible they were. And in the next 5 or so years CDs became the big thing. Over the next 10-15 years thanks to companies like BMG and Columbia House i accumulated hundreds of cds for my library. Then, as we got into the 2010s those things went away, music stores closing, best buy stops selling cds, walmart and target dwindling their selections down to almost nothing, but yet somehow vinyl makes this comeback. Made no sense to me, considering how user unfriendly they are, i just have never understood why anyone likes them. I still buy the cd when i want an album, it just sucks how much more of a challenge that is now. Amazon is great but its not perfect. I very much miss the days when new releases would come out and i could go to my choice of stores...whether it be target/walmart, or media play, disc jockey...kids these will never know how awesome those experiences were. One thing is for sure though, i will NEVER touch vinyl with a 10ft pole. I legit hate vinyl.

[SHOOTER]

Yes, I finally caved and started stacking up on vinyl. For those that enjoy album artwork and physical packaging on top of the music, it can be a rather rewarding experience.

[Choco]

Mar 1, 2021 20:30:33 GMT -5 bigd79 said:

When i first started getting into music, cassette tapes were the main form of media. I don’t even remember vinyl being in stores but its possible they were. And in the next 5 or so years CDs became the big thing. Over the next 10-15 years thanks to companies like BMG and Columbia House i accumulated hundreds of cds for my library. Then, as we got into the 2010s those things went away, music stores closing, best buy stops selling cds, walmart and target dwindling their selections down to almost nothing, but yet somehow vinyl makes this comeback. Made no sense to me, considering how user unfriendly they are, i just have never understood why anyone likes them. I still buy the cd when i want an album, it just sucks how much more of a challenge that is now. Amazon is great but its not perfect. I very much miss the days when new releases would come out and i could go to my choice of stores...whether it be target/walmart, or media play, disc jockey...kids these will never know how awesome those experiences were. One thing is for sure though, i will NEVER touch vinyl with a 10ft pole. I legit hate vinyl.

Both CD and vinyl are relatively user-unfriendly these days (cars and laptops stopped coming with CD players a handful of years ago, so basically you have to actually spend extra money if you want something that can still play CDs). Even on the videogame industry, physical is a dying format (as the owner of a PS4 with multiple games on both formats I can confirm that having to use a disc to play a game that still installs on the console and takes a chunk of my storage is kind of stupid).

Vinyl is a much cooler collectible / decoration.

[daneeis]

Mar 1, 2021 23:35:47 GMT -5 Choco said:

Mar 1, 2021 20:30:33 GMT -5 bigd79 said:

When i first started getting into music, cassette tapes were the main form of media. I don’t even remember vinyl being in stores but its possible they were. And in the next 5 or so years CDs became the big thing. Over the next 10-15 years thanks to companies like BMG and Columbia House i accumulated hundreds of cds for my library. Then, as we got into the 2010s those things went away, music stores closing, best buy stops selling cds, walmart and target dwindling their selections down to almost nothing, but yet somehow vinyl makes this comeback. Made no sense to me, considering how user unfriendly they are, i just have never understood why anyone likes them. I still buy the cd when i want an album, it just sucks how much more of a challenge that is now. Amazon is great but its not perfect. I very much miss the days when new releases would come out and i could go to my choice of stores...whether it be target/walmart, or media play, disc jockey...kids these will never know how awesome those experiences were. One thing is for sure though, i will NEVER touch vinyl with a 10ft pole. I legit hate vinyl.

Both CD and vinyl are relatively user-unfriendly these days (cars and laptops stopped coming with CD players a handful of years ago, so basically you have to actually spend extra money if you want something that can still play CDs). Even on the videogame industry, physical is a dying format (as the owner of a PS4 with multiple games on both formats I can confirm that having to use a disc to play a game that still installs on the console and takes a chunk of my storage is kind of stupid).

Vinyl is a much cooler collectible / decoration.

CDs are still user friendly. Although they are harder to find, new laptops with CD drives are still being sold. DVD players can also play CDs and CD radios are still being sold. I know they have become less common, but there are still multiple options to play CDs.

[nak]

Vinyl is a more sedentary form of listening to music which makes sense it is on the rise due to less traveling. A streaming device or CD player is very portable, but a record player isn't (unless its those 45rpm suitcase players)