Vinyl turning the tables in a digital world
In the golden age of pop and rock, vinyl records ruled the audio universe.
With the advent of CDs and then streaming media, it appeared that vinyl would be relegated to the audio boneyard, with a cult following similar to devotees of its predecessor, shellac.
But far from taking a shellacking in the market, vinyl still lays claim to substantial territory and is even making impressive gains, remaining relevant in a digital landscape.
The Recording Industry Association of America reported at the end of 2022 that revenues from vinyl records grew 17% to $1.2 billion in 2022 - the 16th consecutive year of growth - accounting for 71% of physical format revenues.
For the first time since 1987, vinyl albums outsold CDs in units, 41 million vs. 33 million.
A testament to the resilience of vinyl are stores like Record Wonderland, 737 E. Nerge Road in Roselle.
The bins and the counter are brimming with a wide selection of 33- and 45-rpm vinyl offerings ranging from Bob Dylan box sets to Anthony Braxton avant-garde jazz albums.
But owner Steve Young said there is plenty of new music on vinyl, as well.
Young, whose store has been in business for seven years, said many people feel vinyl has a better sound, especially with older pressings.
"There are a lot of people who feel that the vinyl sound is warmer and deeper," he said.
Young said vinyl has an appeal to young people that sometimes goes beyond the sound of the record.
"Right now, I think part of it is young people like a bigger format. There are a lot of young people who come in here, don't necessarily even want to play the record. They just like to have an object that represents an artist that they're really fond of."
And in the case of artists like Taylor Swift, audiences feel they want to support them by buying their vinyl.
Hot new vinyl includes the Rolling Stones' latest album.
"We had a lot of requests. We sold out of it right away," Young said.
Swift is another artist who moves a lot of vinyl, as does Olivia Rodrigo. A lot of people have requested the new "Blink 182" album.
Other big-selling artists are Mac Miller, Lana Del Rey and Tyler the Creator.
"When people my age come in, those are the big three they ask for," said store employee Alex Van Exan, 25.
Vinyl seems to attract music aficionados of various eras.
"It's a niche," Van Exan said. "Most people just listen to Spotify or whatever. But for people who are into music, I think vinyl is like the way people do it. It is never going to be the main way that people consume music. But I think for people who are into music and really like it, vinyl is the way that people want to listen to it."
Record Wonderland employee Kevin Staudt said many newer artists are eager to get their work out on vinyl.
"Tyler the Creator is kind of like an involved artist. He seems to really prioritize getting his stuff on vinyl," Staudt said. "There's like a lot of cases like that, I think, recently."
The prices have ranged from a rare Michael Cosmic recording that sold for $8,000 to records that sell for as little as $2.
Sales are cyclical, with the winter holiday season through April proving especially strong, Young said.
Rob Gillis of the reissue label Mobile Fidelity and the online audio retailer Music Direct, known as Rob "The Record Guy," said vinyl is "way beyond on the way back. Vinyl is now outselling compact discs. So as a physical medium it is overall now the dominant one again."
When Mobile Fidelity put out Michael Jackson's "Thriller" a year ago, the store sold "5,800 copies at $100 each directly to consumers in one week, and we were No. 2 on the physical album sales chart," Gillis said.
But, Gillis put the numbers in perspective saying, compared to the 1970s when a No. 1 record would sell a million units, today that figure would be 20,000 units.
"Streaming is dominant now, as far as how people consume music, if you want to call that consumption," he said.
Gillis cited a survey by Luminate, Billboard's data source, showing half of all buyers of vinyl don't actually own a record player.
"They're buying an artifact. They're buying a T-shirt," he said.
Comparisons between CDs and vinyl records is not exactly like comparing apples to oranges, he said. It is more like comparing Fuji Apples and McIntosh apples.
"It's not that different, but it's a different taste," he said. "People gravitated to (CDs) because of ease of use. You can listen to an entire symphony without flipping it over and they sounded great and there are no pops or clicks.
But you missed having the jacket. You missed the tactile thing."