Top Five Reasons why Vinyl will outlive CDs
Reason #1: Vinyl has outlived every other physical music medium.
Vinyl records have been manufactured in eight formats since 1894. During the past 113 years, the music industry has seen numerous formats rise and fall. Consider the media formats that have come and gone: reel-to-reel, eight tracks, cassette tapes, mini-discs.
In 1948 the first 12 inch vinyl record was manufactured, solidifying the concept of the album. For the first time, listeners could enjoy 23 minutes of continuous music without having to flip the album over or load the next single. Artists began to record numerous songs, typically 14, and packaged them together as one concept. Other music formats continued this approach, but none have fully embodied the album concept in the same way that vinyl has.
Reason #2: CDs will soon be abandoned.
Growth in digital downloads will begin to outpace the decline in CD sales in a few years, especially since iTunes will begin to face stiff competition from Amazon and the various digital stores that EMI and Universal are nurturing. Once the major labels begin to believe that CDs need to be abandoned due to slumping numbers, they will whole heartedly embrace digital downloads. If you don’t believe me, think back to the death of cassette tapes when CDs became widely available.
Reason #3: Digital downloads are being packaged with purchases of vinyl.
When The Arcade Fire released Neon Bible, they offered a digital download with every purchase of their vinyl. On December 3, Radiohead will ship a “discbox” that will include two vinyl records, one CD, an enhanced CD, and a digital download of In Rainbows, and a digital download of bonus tracks. Vinyl record sales have increased 10% since 2004, and I predict that this trend will only continue.
Reason #4: Album collectors tend to prefer Vinyl over every other physical format.
While consumers are turning to digital downloads to listen to their music so they can upload tracks to their 160gb iPod, collectors continue to prefer vinyl as their format of choice. Ask any music collector and they’ll explain why vinyl sounds better than CDs due to its warmth. They’ll also express a passion for the album art, pointing out that CD booklets lacked in comparison.
Reason #5: Consumers view music as something they access, not own.
As albums are leaked months in advance of their release dates on peer-to-peer networks, fewer people are willing to pay for something they can access for free. Instead, the emphasis is shifting back to live performances as ticket sales have doubled. Massive music collections fill the hard drives of countless college students who gladly share files with their friends. The availability of music is beginning to change the mindset of music as something we access rather than own, whether consumers subscribe to a service such as Rhapsody, or if they download Mp3s from their friends. Access versus ownership is the real reason the CD is no longer relevant to consumers.
The Pendletons – Put That Record On
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Puddlegum began in 1997 as one of the first online music magazines. It is managed by Flick, and has gained respect from many in the recording industry.
Over the years Puddlegum has accomplished quite a few things we are proud of:
Being mentioned by Thom Yorke during a BBC Radio interview (concerning our Tens Theory), and being written about in Rolling Stone. We have also made the front page of TUAW, Digg, and VH1’s Best Week Ever, and have been featured on USA Today, and Reuters.
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[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptOther music formats continued this approach, but none have fully embodied the album concept in the same way that vinyl has. Reason #2: CDs will soon be abandoned. Growth in digital downloads will begin to outpace the decline in CD sales … [...]
Flick, very fine points. Vinyl is awesome and still the best sounding medium for listening to music in my opinion. I also have to agree with your thoughts on the end of the cd – coincidentally our thoughts cross paths, I wrote an opinion piece for one of our newspapers and posted in my ‘essays’ blog here http://www.pampelmoose.com/sparks/?p=69
Dave http://www.pampelmoose.com
[...] Flick over at Puddlegum has a fine overview regarding what he sees as the end of the CD era. And his 5 points are: – Vinyl has outlived every other physical music medium. – CDs will soon be abandoned. – Digital downloads are being packaged with purchases of vinyl. – Album collectors tend to prefer Vinyl over every other physical format. – Consumers view music as something they access, not own. Read and comment on the article here. [...]
There’s something about vinyl that gives it staying power. You can’t compete with the sound of a records, and there is just something magical about having the artwork in “12 form as well as the feeling of putting the needle down on a record for the first time. I can’t imagine ever selling my record collection, but I’m constantly getting rid of my CD’s. I have most of my music in digital format and on my ipod, yet I seek out my favorite albums on vinyl. Well written article flick.
i completely agree. i’ve been collecting records since i was 8 and have amassed quite a collection. But it’s not just an obssesive collectors thing that makes vinyl great. There are just some things that cannot be found on CDs or even downloads. Like a very rare record with a limited pressing that no one thinks of burning.
But most of all, i value my collection (as i’m sure most of you do) because i know that the whole room full of amazing music will be passed on from generation to generation who will discover all these great artists. Much better than just handing your grandkids a little 160gb iPod, yeah?
=)
Lovely post and I can agree with everything mentioned. But, I want to add one more to the list-Vinyl Art. Album cover art is one of the most fascinating aspects about the LP, with many famous artists (i.e. R. Crumb, Andy Warhol and many more) lending their expertise and talents to make beautiful art. In fact, I am a collector and I will purchasae an album just for the cover art, and I am sure I am not the only one
Regards,
Robert
http://www.collectingvinylrecords.com
I must say I agree with all the posts, especially Bob’s about the cover art. I also have been collecting vinyl since the mid-60’s and now have a decent sized collection. I love to check out the artwork and read the liner notes, plus the Inner Sleeves that Columbia used to use to give you info about other albums that were available at the time. And, like Bob, I have bought many an album just because the cover was interesting. In fact, I am a huge Barclay James Harvest fan, and first bought their “Gone To Earth” album because of the cover! Sometimes you win, and sometimes the artwork is the only good thing about the album.
[...] http://puddlegum.net/top-five-reasons-why-vinyl-will-outlive-cds/ http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/10/29/1947253&from=rss [...]
[...] (Source – PuddleGum) [...]
I think the music industry may be willing to go back to Vinyl for another reason….its hard to pirate Vinyl records! I mean with a CD, I rip it to my computer, save the files on another disk or flash drive and give them to anyone I want. I can also go to the library and rip a CD and return it while still having the album…you can’t do that with a Vinyl record.
Are we forgetting the fact that vinyl’s sound is created by running a sharp needle over a plastic surface? Every time you play a record, you’re degrading the item. A CD, on the other hand, only gets scratched if you’re a bumbling fool….