VINTAGE VIBES
Old school vinyl makesBlues this year’s wish list
This Christmas, it’s not just high tech products that are topping wish lists. Old school vinyl records and record players are making a major comeback. “The popularity of vinyl started again slowly about seven years ago,” says Mike Clasen, owner of Records on Wheels, located in Dundas. “Then about three years ago it really took off. The store went from selling 300 used albums to now selling thousand of albums, both new and used.” According to Deloitte, the vinyl music industry will post double-digit growth in 2017 for the seventh year in a row, selling 40 million new discs and generating $900 million in revenue. The growing popularity of vinyl has, in fact, prompted Sony Music Entertainment to resume production of the record in 2018 after a three-decade hiatus. Interestingly, the renewed interest appears to cross all age groups, from the older generation of listeners who have revived old turntables to millennials intrigued by a technology to which they’d never been exposed. “Young people are fascinated by how records work,” says Clasen. “You take a record out, start a turntable and suddenly hear music.They didn’t grow up with this technology.” While music streaming has opened up a whole new world of listening pleasure, an increasing number of people are feeling disconnected from the tactile experience that a physical collection provides.
“A vinyl collection is something that is real to hold and cherish. And it’s more fun,” explains Mike. “You can have thousands of songs digitally, but not really own anything.” Simply put, the experience of purchasing and appreciating a vinyl album is far more immersive than downloading a song to your iPhone. Rather than thumbing through songs on a screen, vinyl consumers peruse through new or used albums in search of a great musical find. Once purchased, a vinyl album invites you to slow down and take the time to admire its artwork, read the lyrics, and listen to each song from beginning to end (yep, you’ve got to get up and flip to side B). While the Baby Boomers and Gen X’ers grew up enjoying the pleasure of this experience, today’s youngest generations appear to be leading the retro comeback. Case in point: the most popular vinyl album of 2017, so far, is Ed Sheeran’s album, Divide. Affordability of turntables has helped fuel their renewed interest. Until recently, the old technology was pretty much obsolete. A new turntable would set you back thousands of dollars, catering to the audiophile audience; the only consumers who never gave up on vinyl.Today, a record player can be purchased for as little as $100. The demand for turntables is on the rise, says Clasen who recently began selling stereo equipment. “I’ve been here 40 years and I never sold turntables. But I realized with so many customers enquiring about where to buy them, it made sense to stop referring them elsewhere and just sell them here.” Records on Wheels now carries up to four different turntables ranging in price from $400 to $600. Certainly, with Sony’s planned re-entry into the vinyl marketplace, the trend shows no sign of abating. This is good news for die-hard Christmas planners. Efforts to bridge the gap between old and young with a Christmas activity that doesn’t elicit eye-rolling is a cinch. Throw on a vinyl record with some snappy tunes. Perhaps it’ll be the start of a new, er, old tradition.