The UK Vinyl Revival

In the UK there has been a strong and surprising vinyl revival. Vinyl LPs have reached the half a million mark for the first time since 2003. According to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) vinyl now accounts for 0.8% of album sales, which might seem small but is actually a big improvement on the 0.1% the format commanded in 2007. In April this year independent record shops sold a massive £2 million worth of vinyl on Record Store Day, an event to celebrate the importance of said record shops.

So why this big vinyl renaissance in the age of digital music? It's largely down to the sound quality of vinyl records. Digital music sounds bright and incredibly pristine, but that also makes it sound clinical and cold. Vinyl sounds warmer and more immediate. Then there's the process of the listening experience - taking the vinyl out of the sleeve, putting it on the turntable, dropping the needle and sitting back to embrace the pure listening experience. It's an activity in it's own right and one where an album should be listened to in full. Then there's the artwork, liner notes and the added benefit of a download code for MP3s.

There's clearly a high level of intimacy associated with vinyl culture, and I believe this doesn't exist in MP3 culture, where playlists damage and overshadow the power of the album format, which showcases a band or artist's hard work and skill over many months. You don't even have to download full albums on digital platforms, just cherry-pick the best tracks. This takes away from the attachment that vinyl has to offer. MP3s don't feel like products, and many bands and artists give them out for free. A vinyl feels like it's been loved and cared over, tailored-made for your ultimate enjoyment. It also confirms that music lovers still buy records. 

So in conclusion I think vinyl has had a great resurgence as a result of the musical isolation digital music has created, enhancing the album experience that the latter simply cannot emulate. Maybe in the future vinyl will become the dominant album format, but there's still a long way to go for that to be realized.

Here's a link to the BPI article on Vinyl's Resurgence.

http://www.bpi.co.uk/home/vinyl-revival-continues-as-lp-sales-reach-highest-level-in-more-than-a-decade.aspx