SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Record Revival In a world dominated by MP3s, CDs, and Internet radio, old- fashioned vinyl records are forging an unlikely comeback. ::
big selection. And it’s not just young people who have rediscovered the format. Classic jazz and classic rock are big sellers as well. For the last few years, the Beatles’ Abbey Road has been the biggest vinyl seller. “People started realizing how much fun records are,” Bob
BY MEREDITH NELSON R
ock ’n’ roll will never die, a wise man once said, and so too it seems that vinyl records will prove
immortal. Long written off as a music format headed the way of the 8-track tape, LPs are now selling better than they have in many years. It’s not only nostalgia driving
the trend — it’s a newfound taste by younger listeners for the richer sound of vinyl on turntables that is impossible to fi nd in digital formats. Besides a revival in secondhand
record stores, big-box retailers such as Best Buy and Target have started selling LPs and turntables again. Web retailer Amazon also now has a
Fuchs, owner of The Electric Fetus, an independent music store in Minneapolis, tells Newsmax. “They want to listen to something more real, less compressed.” Industry fi gures show that while
CD sales fell 5 percent last year, vinyl records purchases grew by 36 percent. To be sure, LP purchases are not anywhere near the levels of their peak in the 1970s. In 1977, 344 million vinyl records were sold. In 2011, it was only 3.9 million. Still, for a format that many
predicted was doomed to extinction, this qualifi es as a stunning revival. “You could give me all those CDs
for nothing, and I wouldn’t take them,” said Susan Zirafi , 50, a New York City sound technician who works on the set of Good Morning America, as she perused the album collection of a street merchant.
CURRENT TOP-SELLING ALBUMS 1. Abbey Road/ Beatles
2. Helplessness Blues/Fleet Foxes 3. Bon Iver/Bon Iver
4. Sigh No More/Mumford & Sons 5. King Of Limbs/Radiohead 6.
21/Adele
7. For Emma Forever Ago/Bon Iver 8. Whole Love/Wilco 9. Brothers/Black Keys 10. El Camino/Black Keys
64 NEWSMAX MAXLIFE | MARCH 2013 Ezra Loy, a 30-year-old collector of
vinyl albums, says the analog sound of LPs provides musical subtleties that are lost on CDs or MP3s. “You know how when you listen to a song, and the softer parts are softer and the louder parts are louder? That’s what they mean by ‘less compressed’ and that’s what you hear on the vinyl record,” explains Loy.
OLD AND NEW Stores like The Electric Fetus feature various artists on vinyl.
United Record Pressing, the
Nashville factory where the Beatles’ fi rst U.S. records were stamped nearly a half-century ago, is experiencing a boom. The plant often runs 24 hours a day. Then there’s the allure of the cover art. Consider Abbey Road’s iconic image of the lads strolling across an intersection.
WHERE TO BUY LPS ONLINE
Amazon.com: The online retail giant has a huge selection
of vinyl, and it quickly stocks new releases.
Insound.com: The selection and prices are both excellent.
Insound regularly has sales on vinyl records, so you can get a steal here.
eBay.com: eBay is an old standby for vinyl. The popular
auction site is especially helpful if you are looking for older or rare records.
Discogs.com: Discogs is kind of like Facebook for vinyl
SOURCE: Nielsen SoundScan 2011 figures
junkies. It’s a hybrid online record store and social networking site for people who are really into music.
TURNTABLE/ISTOCKPHOTO / ELECTRIC FETUS/AP IMAGES / ADAPTER/THOMAS NORTHCUT/PHOTODISC/GETTY IMAGES
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