黑料社

Once dying, then a novelty, vinyl is back and thriving

In this file photo taken on February 18, 2020, a man plays a turntable vinyl record player in a music store in Paris. - Sales revenues are "back to their level of 15 years ago, but only 52% of the historical peak of 2002", the organisation said. Sales (i.e. excluding neighbouring rights and synchronisation of films, advertising and video games), at 766 million euros, are "three quarters" based on "digital exploitation". 569 million, including subscription streaming and ad-supported streaming. Physical media, CDs and vinyl, account for the remaining quarter of digital, "exactly the opposite of 10 years ago". (Photo by Martin BUREAU / AFP)

In this file photo taken on February 18, 2020, a man plays a turntable vinyl record player in a music store in Paris. Sales revenues are 鈥渂ack to their level of 15 years ago, but only 52% of the historical peak of 2002鈥, the organisation said. Sales (i.e. excluding neighbouring rights and synchronisation of films, advertising and video games), at 766 million euros, are 鈥渢hree quarters鈥 based on 鈥渄igital exploitation鈥. 569 million, including subscription streaming and ad-supported streaming. Physical media, CDs and vinyl, account for the remaining quarter of digital, 鈥渆xactly the opposite of 10 years ago鈥. (AFP)

NEW YORK 鈥 Like many people in his generation, Vijay Damerla finds most of his new music online 鈥 but the 20-year-old is slowly becoming a , amassing records in his room.

The student says he doesn鈥檛 even own a turntable, saying for him 鈥渋t鈥檚 the equivalent of like getting an artist poster, or like even an album poster on your wall.鈥

鈥淓xcept, like, there鈥檚 actually kind of a little bit of a relic from the past.鈥

For Celine Court, 29, collecting vinyl 鈥 she says she owns some 250 records 鈥 is about the nostalgic, warm sound that many listeners say digital copies chill.

鈥淚f you listen to music on vinyl, it鈥檚 so different,鈥 she told AFP as she perused the stacks at New York鈥檚 Village Revival Records. 鈥淚t has like this authentic kind of feeling to it.鈥

in recent years, a reversal after CDs and digital downloads reigned over the 1990s and early 2000s.

The latest report from the Recording Industry Association of America said that in 2022 more record units were sold than compact discs for the first time in three decades, with consumers snagging 41 million pieces of new vinyl last year compared to 33 million CDs.

Revenue from vinyl had already started surpassing CDs as of the 2020 report.

Big-box retailers including Walmart have embraced the retro format, and megastars including Taylor Swift, Harry Styles and Billie Eilish have sent pressing plants into overdrive.

Just this week Metallica purchased a plant to keep up with demand for their own reissues.

Smaller shops are also feeding interest: Jamal Alnasr, who owns Village Revival, stocks some 200,000 records at any given time, not to mention used CDs, cassettes and memorabilia.

鈥淲ho would imagine vinyls will come back to life?鈥 said the 50-year-old shop owner, who moved to New York from the West Bank in his late teens.

At one point he had even donated much of his own personal collection, which he estimates could be worth some $200,000 these days, to an archiving institution: 鈥淚n the nineties, if you talk about vinyl, I don鈥檛 think you鈥檙e cool.鈥

But decades later he says 鈥渆very day I see (this) young generation buying new items.鈥

鈥淚鈥檝e been doing this for like 30 years鈥 a new generation, kids, they come in look for all the music from the 1930s and 40s and 50s.鈥

鈥淭hey actually know more than us, we who grew up in the 1990s and 80s,鈥 he laughed.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a beautiful thing.鈥

Physical experience

Alnasr deals in both new and used vinyl 鈥 the RIAA report refers to reported sales of new pressings, which the shop owner does stock; he estimates the store contains about half new, half used items.

He said that because vinyl is relatively expensive to manufacture and distribute, the markup these days on new items can be as little as five percent, and he relies on original collectibles to make up the difference.

Alnasr said his business is driven by a combination of music nerds and more casual listeners, and with a $15,000 monthly rent 鈥 once a bohemian haunt, today鈥檚 Greenwich Village is among the city鈥檚 priciest neighborhoods 鈥 he鈥檚 mostly operating on the margins.

鈥淓very time I鈥檓 about to sink I just take everything I鈥檝e got personally and put it back into the business,鈥 he laughed. 鈥淚 guess鈥 I love my business more than I love myself.鈥

Echoing student Damerla鈥檚 experience, Alnasr said many people buy records for the art 鈥 and discover the music later.

He鈥檚 fine with that, but does insist that most of his sales be conducted in person.

For a known customer 鈥 Alnasr is a favorite record dealer among celebrities, having befriended the likes of Lana Del Rey, Bella Hadid and Rosalia 鈥 he鈥檚 willing to procure and ship an item.

But for the most part, he prefers people 鈥減hysically experience鈥 the vinyl.

鈥淵ou can say I鈥檓 the only stubborn New Yorker 鈥 I do not want to sell this format online,鈥 he laughed. 鈥淚 want people to come here鈥 dig through vinyls and get educated.

鈥淭hey will see way much more than the front one, there is a lot of hidden gems in here.鈥

No matter the vinyl revival, sales of physical music media remain niche, with streaming remaining the dominant listening format.

Services including paid subscriptions and ad-supported platforms grew seven percent to reach a record high $13.3 billion in revenue in 2022, according to the RIAA, accounting for 84 percent of total US profits.

But Court, who is from the Netherlands, called streaming 鈥渢oo fast, too easy.鈥

鈥淚t鈥檚 just a better energy to collect your vinyl and then listen to it and be proud of it.鈥

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