The Vinyl Resurgence Continues

$7??? Maybe without annnnny of the fixings

 

That was a fun read! I wonder if those profit margins are the reason why some bands are holding back their other formats (digital/CD, etc.) to release everything all together? I see announcements from bands like Senses Fail for next summer since that's the earliest they could get the physical vinyl product to their fans...

 

Oh that's definitely why! I think someone else recently reported how much sales are impacted if the vinyl arrives long after the album's release.

 

So wild to think about in practice. Like, Buddy spends months/years writing a record, and then once he's finally got it done, he's practically waiting another record-writing term to even put out the one he just finished.

Woof.

 

The band I'm doing merch for had their full length done for a really long time, and finally ended up deciding on an October release because that's when they'd have the physical vinyl. Then the last year happened, & they kept the release date but waited until January to have the official record release show. It's in 4 weeks, & they're PROBABLY not getting vinyl for the release show

 

I'm happy for everyone who enjoys vinyl but, frankly, I feel like it's really a novelty at this point in terms of music listening experience. Perhaps it's because I live in an NYC apartment but I just can't fathom having a vinyl collection take up space that I most likely interact wit only 2-3 times a week vs. playing music off my phone all day long. That being said, happy that an industry has been built in order to make creators some additional money.

 

Well, yes. Clearly these days ANY physical music collection is a ‘novelty’ but some people still like to own the physical piece of art associated with the audio. That’s how it was always intended, of course. I suppose I’m blessed with having enough space in my house to house my collection and it’s something I’ve built up over years so it tells a story.

 

How can it resurge if it can barely get produced?

 

I still laugh at how vinyl went away for awhile then came back. I definitely don’t do it for the quality of vinyl music. It’s more novelty for me and something that feels nice to physically have.

I have between 100-150 vinyls. Most of them acquired over the past 7 years or so and some of them passed down to me as a kid. Like my Beach Boys discography.

I only purchase my “defining” or favorite albums and any new albums from my favorite artists. I never just go vinyl shopping to see what I can find either. I always know what I’m looking for.

At the end of the day, it’s nice to collect something that I can be identified through and something I can pass down to my child. Same goes for my guitar collection/custom builds.

As much as music means to me, I sure as hell don’t want to pass down a box of CD’s, hard drive with digital music files, or login info for my music streaming data lol.

 

To go even further, ALL physical media (books, cds, blurays, vinyl, etc.) is ~novelty~ at this point. But the tangible feeling of OWNING your favorite things never goes away for a lot of people, myself included.

 

Is it really that cheap to make? $7? What if the pattern/color is super complicated? I assume splatter and swirl/split colors cost more to make?

 

Yeah… people who say “why buy vinyl when you can stream” are prob the same exhausting people who say “why watch football when you can play.” To people who think this way: consider buying just one record of your fav artist. I promise, it won’t hurt. You might even like it.

 

I didn't read the article, but I can tell you from experience, it is absolutely not that cheap to make for your average artist. The only way to get it that cheap would be doing a single LP, no insert, flat black colorway, and ordering a whole shit ton of them (ordering more = lower cost).

 

Oh my god. Get out of my head

 

Tend to agree. I'll admit to being over 300 now myself, and that pace has slowed having basically collected all of my all-time favourite releases and now just purchase new ones. Now married with a toddler-age daughter, I definitely don't get the opportunity to listen to records as I used to, but I appreciate having this physical embodiment of my love of music, which greatly influenced the past 20 years of my life - and it does incentivise me to set aside time to carefully select what album I want to listen to and give it proper attention. Do I play them enough to justify the investment I've made the past 15 years? Likely not, but I think I made peace with that. As for passing it down later...I hope my daughter comes to appreciate Thrice.

 

My fav part of vinyl collecting is getting them signed in person by the artist like I have an almost complete signed Charli xcx vinyl collection and I have a bunch of other records signed like chvrches,tove lo, mat Kearney bleachers, lights Maggie Lindemann kp and real friends to name a few I have signed in person in my collection

 

Yes! I’ve got some too! Descendents, Masked Intruder, MxPx, Andrew WK and more I’m sure. Fun stuff!

 

Getting signatures is one thing I haven’t really thought about. I should put more effort into that.

I can only think of a couple vinyl signatures I have and that’s Brian Fallon on Sleepwalkers and AVA on their new album. Pretty sure that’s it haha.

 

lol this metaphor would have to be "why listen to vinyl when you could just write your own record" which...honestly just makes it funnier

 

there is so much more to it xxx www.andyhay.bandcamp.com xxx