'Record Store Day' Creates Vinyl Logjam (newyorker.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Today is Record Store Day, an event which includes exclusive vinyl releases distributed only through record stores. But besides complaints about scalpers hoarding the limited-edition releases, musicians and labels say the event monopolizes all of the available production capacity for pressing vinyl records, creating delays as long as six months and inflating vinyl record prices as high as $30. "The bottleneck persists even though plants work around the clock for months to accommodate the surge in orders leading up to Record Store Day," writes the New Yorker, noting that the demand for vinyl records has now increased six-fold over the last eight years.

Part of the problem appears to be big labels. (One insisted on printing 2,100 copies of their 1974 novelty hit "Kung Fu Fighting" for the independent record store event, the New Yorker notes, "meaning that an up-and-coming band's new album could, in theory, be delayed.") Meanwhile, with current techniques, one production plant still has to scrap up to 20% of the records it presses due to quality issues -- although in the last four months, two companies have introduced new faster technologies for pressing vinyl records.
This year's records include a Dr. Who track called "Genesis of the Daleks" and a track from the "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" soundtrack on a vinyl picture disc, as well as releases from Anthrax, David Bowie, Johnny Cash, Miles Davis, the Flaming Lips, and even Devo members Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale. Metallica -- this year's "ambassador" for the event -- plans to stream a live performance at Rasputin Records in Berkeley California.)

Comments

Logjam

[Anonymous Coward]

noun
1.
an immovable pileup or tangle of logs, as in a river, causing a blockage.
2.
any blockage or massive accumulation:
a logjam of bills before Congress. .. Nope, seems to be a case of lack of supply not oversupply.

What about the internet "dictionary"?
logjam (log-jam) - noun

1) When you defecate and a chunk of fecal matter is pinched off/left behind and you are unable to push this small remainder out. .. Nope, that's not it either.

And I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with crypto.

Re:Logjam

[Lotharus]

The log jam here is at the point where the vinyl is pressed. There is an oversupply of content (or, rather, requests for pressings, i.e. logs) being served by too few manufacturing facilities (i.e. the river). Perhaps not the most apt metaphor, but not the worst.

Nice try, though.

Fetishization

[Anonymous Coward]

The fetishization of vinyl is for posers. The same kind of posers who fetishize $10,000 audio ethernet cables.

What matters most is mastering. A poorly mastered vinyl release will sound like shit compared to a quality mastering on CD or even an MP3. And then there is degradation and convenience, digital never degrades and is easily copied, shared, backed-up and stored. Given an identical mastering, the only reason to prefer vinyl is if you care about something other than audio quality.

Re:Fetishization

[Transist]

I don't think that's entirely fair to a lot of vinyl 'enthusiasts'. I am not one myself, but I can appreciate why people like it. The ritual of playing a record on vinyl restores some sense of intimacy with the music. I have several friends who collect vinyl, and none of them are remotely interested in snake oil audiophile products. Hell, half of them use cheap, unimpressive old speakers. Perhaps that's part of the aesthetic?

Re:Fetishization

[mrbester]

"You get more milage from a cheap set of speakers"

In any case, it is better to spend money on a high end turntable, arm, needle, preamp and power amp than the best speakers as they will only faithfully reproduce the crap signal they receive.

Re:Fetishization

[Anonymous Coward]

I have several friends who collect vinyl, and none of them are remotely interested in snake oil audiophile products.

If they have ever said that vinyl inherently "sounds better" then yes they are interested in snake-oil audiophile products. Just because they aren't interested in other types of snake-oil doesn't mean they aren't interested in any snake-oil.

As for all that intimacy stuff, well, that's not about sound quality which is precisely what I said in the last sentence of my post.

Re:Fetishization

[Locke2005]

My favorite is the current batch of phonographs with USB connectors... as in, you know that's converting the analog signal to digital, then your amplifier is converting it back to analog, right? So that's better than a digital recording exactly how?

Re:Fetishization

[Locke2005]

Sure, I want to listen to a recording media that degrades every time you use it! My audiophile friend has high-end electrostatic speakers driven by a tube-based 500W amplifier, high end phonograph and oversampling CD player... and the CDs sound better.

Re:Fetishization

[ottawanker]

Just because something 'sounds better' doesn't mean it's higher quality. Take a listen to some vinyl, and I think you'll at least be able to agree that it sounds different. If it does sound different, some people might think that it might sound better..

Re:Fetishization

[ottawanker]

Lots of vinyl has been mastered 'better' than CDs. Basically anything in the 'loudness war' that was released on both vinyl and CD will sound better on vinyl, because it won't constantly be clipping (Red Hot Chili Peppers' Californication is an album I can't stand to listen to on CD).

Re:Fetishization

[Anonymous Coward]

The ritual of playing a record on vinyl restores some sense of intimacy with the music.

... and that is the very definition of "woo", just like those $10K cables.

Re:Fetishization

[U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M]

Virtual +5 million informative.

Re:Fetishization

[Nutria]

I had a CD player and record player at one point. CDs sounded better. (Less scratch/pop/hiss.)

And much more convenient.

Re:Fetishization

[Anonymous Coward]

Those people are ignorant.
Vinyl sounds bad. So many phase problems right through the midband due to RIAA equalization.
If and only if the RIAA circuits are identical at both ends does this disappear, and that does not happen.
Vinyl is also ephemeral, every time you listen to it you degrade the medium. Bleh.
CDs have their own issues but higher depth/rate digital audio is pretty much a solved problem.
24/48 is pretty good, 24/96 is as good as any non-production format needs to be.

Re:Fetishization

[Applehu Akbar]

" A poorly mastered vinyl release will sound like shit compared to a quality mastering on CD or even an MP3."

And a perfectly-mastered vinyl release will degrade a little every time you play it. Welcome back to the world of dusty needles and space-hogging turntables you thought you had left behind forever. So the hipster faddists are going to "rip" their vinyl to MP3, saving the actual vinyl until some hoped for re-re-revival of the format in their grandchildren's time.

Re:Fetishization

[peragrin]

True but that is the fault of the sound engineers who mixed it, the artists who approved it.

It is possible to make a digital version of that vinyl that sounds better. It required talent and care. Two things the music industry greatly lacks.

Re:Fetishization

[Anonymous Coward]

You can take a CD and, by introducing the right distortion, get a sound like vinyl. A bit more distortion and you can have your digital amp sound like a tube amp. CD is a superior format. CD recordings aren't necessarily superior to vinyl, but if they're both made from the same source, the CD will be the better recording. There are however plenty of good vinyl recordings, and plenty of crap CD recordings. In addition, listening to music is a subjective experience, so the less you know about sound, the dumber you are, the more likely vinyl is going to sound superior to you. Just like painting a speaker red makes it sound warmer than if you paint it blue.

Re:Fetishization

[Anonymous Coward]

96+ is only useful if you're a DJ because it allows wider FFT effects such as matching tempo and key between two or more tracks without audible distortion. Mess around with FFT effects in Audacity and you'll quickly see why.

Normal CDs have more than enough audio fidelity for normal listening situations. Now, quality of your other equipment and quality of the mastering are different things entirely. I once decided to buy a bunch of Yes CDs from 1970s to the present. What was amazing was that depending on the year the CD was released, not the year the material was recorded, ReplayGain kept coming up with larger and larger adjustments to get the volume normalized. That means that the "louder" a master is, the less fidelity it has, because there are fewer bits available for recording relatively quiet nuances.

Sauce: I know a DJ.

Re:Fetishization

[philco]

POF, CD medium lasts about 10 to 15 years, whereas vinyl lasts a lifetime. That's why it's better. Oh ya. Warmth as well.

Re:Fetishization

[philco]

Apples to oranges. I listen to vinyl on a 1965 BSR turntable at the moment. It sounds great, better then radio lol. My records will be around when they brush the dust off my bones. Your CD's will be blank pieces of plastic by then. Enjoy the quiet, buddy. PS: I listen to Ministry on this hardware. Beat that.

Re:Fetishization

[Anonymous Coward]

You calling me out? If I leave your CD for 15 years it's gone. Whereas that vinyl record is still playable after over 100 years. Screw the mastering, if it sounds good then ship it. Your copy will start skipping after 10 years lol.

Re:Fetishization

[Anonymous Coward]

Except it costs nothing. Are you claiming that cooking your own food is the same as microwaving frozen dinners?

Re:Fetishization

[Anonymous Coward]

Normal CDs have more than enough audio fidelity for normal listening situations. Now, quality of your other equipment and quality of the mastering are different things entirely. I once decided to buy a bunch of Yes CDs from 1970s to the present. What was amazing was that depending on the year the CD was released, not the year the material was recorded, ReplayGain kept coming up with larger and larger adjustments to get the volume normalized. That means that the "louder" a master is, the less fidelity it has, because there are fewer bits available for recording relatively quiet nuances.

This is sadly a reality. Ironic that the vastly superior dynamic range of CDs is used to facilitate this kind of shit, instead of better sound. You can't really get away with it on tape or vinyl because their SFDRs are so much narrower.

The other thing you'll notice over time: Music (especially pop) trending towards a constant level of loudness. It used to be they had the decency/sense to reserve companding for radio broadcast, because you didn't want people fiddling with their car's stereo loudness constantly.

Re:Fetishization

[delt0r]

CDs out last vinyl by every single possible metric dumb arse.

Re:Fetishization

[delt0r]

My brother got his daughter a turntable that does just that. Rips em to mp3.

Re:Fetishization

[delt0r]

I have CDs in perfect condition from over 20 years ago. CDs outlast vinyl by any possible metric. Similar storage and care CDs *ALWAYS* last longer. Even better you can play CDs as often as you want. Vinyl, not so much. What are you vinyl heads smoking. Cus it is really strong shit.

Re:Fetishization

[Anonymous Coward]

Sounding better than radio is like not tripping over the cracks in sidewalks as far as impressive achievements goes.

Pressed CDs and gold masters will last indefinitely under archival conditions (repeated large temperature swings eventually degrade the plastic/metal interface), though you're correct organic-dye disks will not. In fact, under thermally controlled conditions, they should outlast even magnetic tape.

Re:Fetishization

[Anonymous Coward]

If you haven't played it in 100 years, what makes you think you're going to ever want to play it, anyway?

The CD has error correction. You can still get a perfect reproduction with a fairly substantial amount of damage, and you can quantify, roughly, how degraded it is, so you can make a new perfect copy before it degrades too far for that. Every copy of a vinyl record is irreparably degraded compared to its master.

Re:Fetishization

[Anonymous Coward]

I would bet money that nobody can tell the difference between a vinyl record and a CD-quality digital recording of that vinyl record.

(I've always wanted to A/B test this, but never had the time or resources...)

Re:Fetishization

[Anonymous Coward]

I got my first CD very nearly 30 years ago. Still fine.

Warmth is distortion. I can add distortion if I like.

Re:Fetishization

[religionofpeas]

If producers already take the effort to make a better master for vinyl, why don't they just release the same master on digital format ? The extra cost is negligible.

Re:Fetishization

[bheading]

Setting aside from the fact that even from brand new a vinyl LP will add pops, ticks, surface noise and other distortion to the sound .. .. you can't assume that when you are listening to a vinyl LP that you are not listening to a digital master. This recent uptick in the production of vinyl LPs appears to me to be largely opportunistic, and I'd guess a lot of the LPs are simply the original digital master, with all the clipping/loudness/etc, are remixed to create the cutting master used to create the LPs.

"Californication" is an exception in terms of albums from that era in that it was recorded and mixed on analogue tape. If the vinyl is cut from that master, then you are fine (excepting the limitations inherent to LPs). If the vinyl is cut from the next-generation digital master tape used to press the CDs, you've been fooled by hipster exhuberance.

Re:Fetishization

[bheading]

The oldest CD in my collection was manufactured around 1990.

when I extract it in the computer and checksum it using "accuraterip" the audio is 100%, bit-for-bit, perfect. The CD returns the exact same signal that it did 25 years ago. I'm confident that in 25 years time, if someone wanted to play it, it would still be bit-for-bit perfect.

An LP cannot do that. Each time you play it, the sound gets worse. Scratches, tics, pops all get added. Dust ends up in the grooves which you simply can't completely remove.

So while I get that people prefer the sound of an LP, let's not pretend that this is about audio quality or reproduction, or about longevity. It's about adding artificial - analogue - effects on top of the work originally created by the artist.

Re:Fetishization

[thegarbz]

True but that is the fault of the sound engineers who mixed it, the artists who approved it.

You are accusing the two very people who are most outspoke and out of control of such a situation.

The record industries are the one who demand their album be louder than the competition because it sounds "better". The artist rarely has a voice when it comes to how the final master is prepared, and the sound engineers.... well they are dime-a-dozen and the answer is typically either you mix it the way we want or someone else does.

This is one of the reasons that they love working on vinyl masters, as they aren't the main product there's less micromanaging and they can actually do what they want.

Re:Fetishization

[trabby]

I only ever listen to the bootleg of Californication, extra tracks, some extra vocals, no clipping.

Re:Fetishization

[Anonymous Coward]

Half the people that buy vinyl don't even listen to them.

Re:Fetishization

[Anonymous Coward]

> The record industries are the one who demand their album be louder than the competition because it sounds "better".

Sleeve comment on 'The Dreaming' by Kate Bush, 1982: 'This album is meant to be listened to loud'. I think that was a suggestion by Ms. Bush and before CDs. Of course, if you are not listening to Motorhead at ear-splitting volumes, Lemmy will come back to haunt you.

Non-issue?

[Transist]

As a sell-proclaimed audiophile I can appreciate the point of the article- limited production capacity, high demand, and large budget production runs leave little capacity and long delays for small vinyl releases- but I can't see this really being much of a tragedy. If you're wanting the music itself, a digital copy with superior quality is just a few clicks away. If you're in it for the novelty of vinyl, well you clearly enjoy ritual, waiting, and inconvenience. It would probably make actually receiving the plate all the more rewarding. Vinyl demand has shot up fairly aggressively in recent years. Production capacity will meet demand eventually. When it does. the only thing that will maintain the novelty of vinyl will probably be artificial scarcity and inflated prices.

Re:Non-issue?

[thegarbz]

ritual, waiting, and inconvenience.

What makes you say that given that most people can throw a record on a turntable faster than they can boot a computer, look for and start playing digital media?

Re:Non-issue?

[Anonymous Coward]

I have a browser window open on my computer like I do for many hours of the day. I can go to Youtube and play one of millions of songs within 5 seconds.

Even if I happened to be holding the exact vinyl I wanted to listen to in my hand, AND I had a stereo setup, AND it was nearby AND it was turned on already AND the turntable was empty AND I didn't mind risking scratching my record in my haste, THEN it would take about 5 seconds too.

1 record playable quickly under perfect conditions is somehow more convenient than having millions of songs routinely available quickly during most of my waking day?

Re:Non-issue?

[Anonymous Coward]

Right.

Find a particular album from a collection of several hundred, and then play a specific song on that album.

I can do it much faster and easier on my computer. And you know that, which is why you added the unnecessary barrier of "boot your computer" (my computer is rarely off).

Re:Non-issue?

[Lumpy]

You obviously have zero clue how to play a record.

you do NOT throw it on the turntable.

You put on a cotton glove, carefully remove the record from the sleeve, then carefully place it on a dampening mat on the turntable, you now zero stat it with a static dissipation device and then hit it lightly with a dust removal super soft brush. then you can spin up the turntable wait for it to get to speed, then carefully lower the needle on the record once it hit speed.

My computer boots from OFF in less than 15 seconds. it takes at LEAST 15 seconds to get the record safely on the turntable and the static dissipation applied.

Unless you love the experience of buttloads of pops and clicks as well as damaging a $580 cartridge on your technics turntable... you do it right.

Re:Non-issue?

[Mr D from 63]

If this vinyl thing gets much bigger, it will no longer be cool.

Re:Non-issue?

[Alomex]

faster than they can boot a computer

You mean one can do this manually? ...

Seriously, I haven't rebooted any of my computers in years. For windows usually MS Update does that every month or so, and outside of that they are always on. For my Linux boxes they reboot with every major new Ubuntu distro release, again every few months.

Re:Non-issue?

[Locke2005]

I leave my computer always on. However, my audiophile friend needs to wait 15 minutes for his tube amp to warm up every time he listens to music... now THAT'S convenient! He has several thousand vinyl albums, but mostly listens to CDs these days.

Re:Non-issue?

[Nutria]

What makes you say that given that most people can throw a record on a turntable faster than they can ...

stick a CD in a CD player?

Stupidity says you can get a record playing faster than you can get a CD playing.

Re:Non-issue?

[thegarbz]

Not all of us live in countries where we can happily piss 100watts of power continuously into the wind. Admittedly the parent's basement dwellers may not realise electricity has a cost.

Re:Non-issue?

[thegarbz]

I leave my computer always on.

I have a power bill to pay.

However, my audiophile friend needs to wait 15 minutes for his tube amp to warm up every time he listens to music... now THAT'S convenient! He has several thousand vinyl albums, but mostly listens to CDs these days.

No he doesn't. He just claims he does because it makes his penis bigger.

Re:Non-issue?

[thegarbz]

Yeah and I suppose I could fart faster too, but what has that got to do with digital downloads an records?

Re:Non-issue?

[Nutria]

It has everything that I said it did. Which is nothing.

But people seem to forget that there is a different way to play digital music other than booting up a computer.

Re:Non-issue?

[Iamthecheese]

Not all of us live in countries where we can happily piss 100watts of power continuously into the wind.

That's pretty sad. It's 2016. It's time for a certain base load to be available and all-but-free almost anywhere in the world on demand. Some basic infrastructure is essential to basic industry, and that essential infrastructure includes enough electricity for 100 watts per person on an ongoing basis to be overshadowed. If a region doesn't have that it doesn't have the electricity to support and repair heavy equipment, industrial-scale cooking, modern hospitals, and so forth.

Re:Non-issue?

[geoskd]

Not all of us live in countries where we can happily piss 100watts of power continuously into the wind. Admittedly the parent's basement dwellers may not realise electricity has a cost.

And not all of us have such an incredibly inefficient PC.

You can get laptops that idle at less than 2 watts. Even under load, they're going to use far less than 100 watts,

Re:Non-issue?

[Gojira Shipi-Taro]

I have a power bill to pay.

Tough shit for you. Based on your other comment about penis size, I'm sure you're just a joy to be around. I leave MULTIPLE computers on at all times, and my power bill is lower where I live now than it has ever been. If you can't afford to do that, it's not really relevant to the discussion. Nobody Cares.

Re:Non-issue?

[thegarbz]

I have a power bill to pay.

Tough shit for you.

Based on your other comment about penis size, I'm sure you're just a joy to be around. I leave MULTIPLE computers on at all times, and my power bill is lower where I live now than it has ever been.

If you can't afford to do that, it's not really relevant to the discussion.

Nobody Cares.

Congratulations you live in a world where there's cheap power. More power to you ... errr literally?

As for my comment on penis size, you don't think your audiophile friend is actually able to hear the difference in his tube amp between running when first powered on and 15 minutes later do you? Or does that only work with monster cables. The difference in distortion between a tube that has been on for only a few seconds vs a tube that has been on for 15 minutes it borderline immeasurable. But mind you the same things are set of classical FET amplifiers, except that in this case the difference is actually immeasurable. I have little patience for those who practice homeopathic audio.

Re:Non-issue?

[thegarbz]

Oh I didn't say the power wasn't available. It just results in me actually parting with money for literally no good reason to run a device that is doing zero useful work. This is actually why I "upgraded" my Xeon based home server to an Intel Avoton based server. That paid for itself already even with 2 additional drives in the new server.

Re:Non-issue?

[thegarbz]

Ahhh yes the ever practical but you can get things low power enough to keep them always on and don't consider any of the actual performance or use cases involved with a computer.

I sure as heck won't be replacing my video editing machine with an ultra-low power laptop, and I'm sure you agree buying an entire laptop for the soul purpose of making sure your music is available 15 seconds faster is not really a great use for money, or a laptop.

Re:Non-issue?

[GrumpySteen]

most people can throw a record on a turntable faster than they can boot a computer, look for and start playing digital media?

I can plug my headphones into my phone, launch the MP3 player, search for the song I want from a collection of about 150 albums and be listening in a matter of seconds. And I can do that anywhere, anytime.

I'd love hear an explanation of how you can do the same thing even faster with 40 lbs of vinyl records.

Re:Non-issue?

[geoskd]

I sure as heck won't be replacing my video editing machine with an ultra-low power laptop

Sure, but otoh if you are using your video editing machine fro browsing the web, and powering it on just to listen to music...

Most people dont have / dont need a computer for video editing. Their needs can often even be met using a tablet. It should also be noted that the cost of my time to wait for a PC to boot every day exceeds the cost of the electricity to just leave it on 24/7. This is especially true when the PC automatically goes into sleep mode automatically, thus reducing the power consumption dramatically.

Re:Non-issue?

[Anonymous Coward]

NO! You have to zero stat AFTER using the brush!

Re:Non-issue?

[mbstone]

This is how you play multiple vinyl records: You use a record-changing turntable.

1. Stack a bunch of records on top of one another on the spindle.
2. When a record finishes, the next record will drop down on top of the record(s) already on the turntable.
3. This is good for 80-100 minutes of music depending on the number of stacked records supported by the device.

No need for expensive cleaning cloths or solutions as long as you are able to buy more copies of your records.

Re:Non-issue?

[Anonymous Coward]

Vinyl has been used for playing back recorded music for decades. It's got nothing to do with 'sound quality', and it certainly has nothing to do with convenience. It's about owning the physical artifact of the song, about picking up an object with the sound waves edged into its surface. Some people aren't in so much of a hurry that they music put music on in less than the time it takes to find an LP amongst your boxes, and place it on the record player. It's a pleasant ritual, and there's nothing wrong with that. Vinyl will continue to be manufactured and played for decades to come, once CDs disappear, and everything is streamed directly into your stereo over your home wireless network, people will still buy and enjoy records.

Re:Non-issue?

[delt0r]

I pay the power bill and rates of my mother in laws place you insensitive clod!

Re:Non-issue?

[Anonymous Coward]

You might want to expand beyond your self-satisfied idiocy sometime and check out a guitar tube amp someday. They have a standby switch to- get this- let the tubes warm up a bit before use.

It ain't fun to have to replace your tubes every few months because some idiot isn't aware tubes are a bit delicate.

Re:Non-issue?

[Anonymous Coward]

100W over 10 hours is 1kWh. The cost of which is like 20 cents across most of the US. How many hours of listening are you doing?

Re:Non-issue?

[KGIII]

I'm the furthest thing from an audiophile but... Umm... Err... I'm also old. I also play a variety of musical instruments. I also have some tubed amps.

You can absolutely tell the difference between a warmed up tube-driven system and one just started. It's not just a little different, it's a lot different.

Re:Non-issue?

[Anonymous Coward]

Not all of us live with computers that are unable to hibernate.

Re:Non-issue?

[Anonymous Coward]

Most people carry an always-on computer around in their pockets these days, no need to buy another computer.

Well...

[wonkey_monkey]

...hipsters gotta hip. Or is the verb "to hipst"?

This year's records include a D[octo]r Who track called "Genesis of the Daleks"

It's not so much a track as audio from a 1970s TV story.

Re:Well...

[Anonymous Coward]

This year's records include a D[octo]r Who track called "Genesis of the Daleks"

It's not so much a track as audio from a 1970s TV story.

Subtitle: "It's no fun being an evil alien."

Digital streaming from a record store?

[Mr D from 63]

Metallica -- this year's "ambassador" for the event -- plans to stream a live performance at Rasputin Records in Berkeley California.

I wonder if that performance would sound better on vinyl? Maybe we should just wait for it.

Re:Digital streaming from a record store?

[Locke2005]

Would is sound better with earplugs?

But... but... but... vinyl is dead

[QuietLagoon]

Didn't they get the memo?

Karate Kung Fu

[ZipK]

Sure, Carl Douglas' "Kung Fu Fighting" was a hit single, but the Emperors' earlier "Karate" was the musical basis of Santana's "Everybody's Everything."

Analog recording studios in 2016?

[Anonymous Coward]

I can't help but think this is digital content.

As Zappa Predicted....

[Anonymous Coward]

The LP fetishist believe vinyl is the way music was meant to be heard just as the clay cylinder fetishist believed in the 60's that only a clay cylinder could impart the "feel" of the music.

What is attraction for under 30 crowd?

[kencurry]

I'm over 50, grew up on vinyl records, so I like vinyl for the combination of nostalgia and having grown up with classic 70's era album masters. My vote for all-time best recording for vinyl is Supertramp's "Crime of the Century." But you had to look for quality recordings and pressings. We would seek out import version of our favorite bands, as they tended to come from higher quality masters and (sometimes) came in more interesting covers/jackets.

What do millennial and younger crowd love about vinyl? why do think it is regaining in popularity? Please post.

Re:What is attraction for under 30 crowd?

[Anonymous Coward]

None whatsoever for the most part. By and large, most people nowadays listen to music using their computers and/or phones.
LPs are liked mostly by people who do it because they can then tell other people they ‘prefer vinyl’. This hasn't got anything to do with music, it's a fashion statement, like how they drink $8 cups of coffee (but only if they can be seen drinking them) and they have to wear glasses with thick black frames and chequered berets.
There's also a tiny professional segment of DJs who like to be able to muck with the speed of the turntables, either for ‘scratching’ (which I personally hate) or to match up the beats of two songs while cross-fading. But nowadays digital devices can do this too and they're gaining in popularity because they're more portable, don't destroy the records they play, allow the DJ to pick from more songs, are better and more convenient at cross-fading, and generally better all-round.

Re:What is attraction for under 30 crowd?

[Anonymous Coward]

It was a clever response, but it lacked a certain ... soul.

Re:What is attraction for under 30 crowd?

[Tapewolf]

What do millennial and younger crowd love about vinyl? why do think it is regaining in popularity? Please post.

The physical aspect of it. Large cover art, booklets and the like. I see it as a reaction to MP3 and similar digital formats which exist purely electronically. MP3s and such are way more convenient to listen to, but they just don't look as good on the shelf.

Many trends act like a pendulum. Mobile phones were large, became unusably tiny and are now in their 'large' phase again. Centrally managed computers gave way to PCs so the users were in control and now things are heading into the cloud and back to the mainframe model again. I don't see why the tension between physical media and digital downloads should be different.

Re:What is attraction for under 30 crowd?

[thegarbz]

What do millennial and younger crowd love about vinyl? why do think it is regaining in popularity? Please post.

Hipsters buy them so they can take photos of them with their Polaroid cameras which they then take a photo of with their phones to upload on Instagram with an old cross-processing filter applied.

Seriously though I know someone who buys it as art for his bookshelf then goes and downloads some MP3s to load on his HiFi. The dead giveaway is how much dust is on the record player despite having a relatively recent and new looking vinyl collection.

Re:What is attraction for under 30 crowd?

[Anonymous Coward]

it's new , elite and hip!

Re:What is attraction for under 30 crowd?

[WebmasterNeal]

I really like the large album art. I don't even listen to vinyl, they just go in a frame and up on my wall. I have roughly 10 frames hanging up at my house currently.

Re:What is attraction for under 30 crowd?

[Anonymous Coward]

I bought 2 vinyl albums recently(ish). It's the only vinyl I own - I don't actually own a record player (yet...). That will sound odd but I will go into my reasoning.

With the times we live in plus me being internet savvy it essentially means there is zero 'need' for me to own physical media of any kind or indeed even spend any money at all with piracy being so accessible. I can obtain anything I like, for free, in file formats of my choosing that will play on everything from my PC to my mobile phone (now my go-to music player, the days of dedicated portable music hardware are over, in my opinion). I have a subscription to Spotify which further mitigates the need and it's legit to boot.

So what does buying physical give me? In order:

1) Supporting the band! I COULD pirate everything (or just listen on Spotify) but I appreciate artists gotta make a living and those 2 albums are from my favourite band ever. I'm not so much a sucker that I'll buy any branded crap they put out (not that they have, really) but purchasing physical media is as good way of supporting them as I have outside of direct donations. I'm aware online music services suck for compensating artists but it's nice to show some appreciation. I believe many things like this are regressing to a 'patronage' style system reliant on the goodwill of fans and I'm fortunate enough to have the income for luxury expenditures of this kind.
2) Something nice to have on my shelves. Vinyl beats anything else hands down. It's large, usually has unique/eyecatching cover art and just looks better than a small CD/DVD jewel case ever could. I *like* looking at them, and I've had more comments about those records than the stack of CDs & DVDs next to them.
3) I was very fortunate to get both my albums signed by the band when they were playing in my country, which only adds to how awesome they are.
4) No DRM bullshit worries for when I do get a record player. It'll just work whether I get it this year, 10 years from now or even just get my hands on a classic 70s turntable or whatever.

Re:What is attraction for under 30 crowd?

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't know anything about DJing, but DJs at parties (especially techno and jungle) play vinyls. It looks pretty cool --> entertainment value.

Re:What is attraction for under 30 crowd?

[whoever57]

My vote for all-time best recording for vinyl is Supertramp's "Crime of the Century."

Wow! I used to annoy the other people in their dorm rooms at college with this album every Saturday. There are probably a couple of people who, to this day, hate Supertramp because of the way I played it obnoxiously loudly every Saturday morning.

Re:What is attraction for under 30 crowd?

[Anonymous Coward]

I grew up on vinyl (and lament much music is doomed to die there forgotten as it isn't commercially viable to remaster it for digital release), but honestly once CDs came out, I got rid of most of my records and never looked back.

And especially hearing the MoFi release of "Breakfast in America" (good taste in your choice), I can't imagine a well mastered record sounding better than an equally well mastered CD.

The difficulty now is that record labels are purposely selling crippled digital releases to cash in also on analogue formats, and then selling high bit rate downloads in which to biggest benefit is proper mastering.

Honestly, I am somewhat disgusted by the music industry now.

Re:What is attraction for under 30 crowd?

[delt0r]

Stoned hipsters.

Re:What is attraction for under 30 crowd?

[KGIII]

I'm over 50 and I hate vinyl. Well, I don't hate it. I prefer digital audio. You can pump digital out over a tubed amp anyhow.

That said, my favorite vinyl was, of course, the White Album. There was a Jame's Taylor's Greatest Hits on vinyl that was pretty good too. Thick as a Brick and Aqualung were pretty good. Man, I got laid with those albums playing in the background so often... Stupid 80s and the AIDS scare. Ah well... I lived through it, I guess. Somehow, I never ended up with AIDS or Hep or any of that interesting stuff. I don't even get cold sores. No herpes, no anything.

Re:What is attraction for under 30 crowd?

[KGIII]

It doesn't much matter. Albums used to be something that went together, often times. You had an album and you could listen to it - entirely. It often told a story. It meant something. It was a singular body of work. Even singles released from an album were part of that story, they were (perhaps) the introduction or preface to the story.

Today, in the world of digital releases and streaming music, the concept of the album seems to have gone away. The concept of the album being a piece of work, a statement, a period of time, an artistic interpretation of a moment or series of moments, is gone in favor of a single hit and filler material that serves no value other than to pad their work.

I find the loss of the album, as a concept and a work, to be disheartening. But, who am I to judge? The world goes where it wants to go and there's fuck all I can do about it.

Re:What is attraction for under 30 crowd?

[tlhIngan]

What do millennial and younger crowd love about vinyl? why do think it is regaining in popularity? Please post.

Easy - digital is easy, but is' somewhat... isolating and abstracted away. You have a CD and it's a silver disc filled with 1s and 0s that mysteriously turns into music. Or it's a file on the hard drive. It's a pretty abstract thing.

Vinyl however, is not abstract. You can feel it, you can look at the grooves and "see" the music within. It's a more tangible medium to experience the music. Effects like flanger and such were physical effects, not just some random DSP algorithm that happened to sound nice. You can induce wow and flutter on the turntable with your finger and see how it affects the music.

Same goes for "analog" photography. A lot of Photoshop filters were modeled after real processes (dodging and burning) and it's just more tangible to do it for real than to simply click a mouse.

They know digital is the best medium for quality out there, but it's not necessarily the best medium to "play" with the art in a tangible way, or even experimentally. Yes, you can run through and click a bunch of buttons and click at the screen and make stuff happen digitally, but it lacks physicality.

It's like the difference between doing chemistry in a simulator on a computer versus doing it in real life with real chemicals.

Re:What is attraction for under 30 crowd?

[Anonymous Coward]

> You had an album and you could listen to it - entirely. It often told a story. It meant something. It was a singular body of work.

I presume we're talking prog rock here? Groovy though that was punk happened 40 years ago, get with the times, man.

(PS: :-) )

Re:What is attraction for under 30 crowd?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, I don't think it's a coincidence that the rise of punk coincided with cheap, recordable cassette tapes.

It was a lot harder for a band to produce their own vinyl than to make some tapes and sell them at shows.

pricing too low

[Anonymous Coward]

...inflating vinyl record prices as high as $30...

They should have jacked the price clear up to $33.33. Because that would be a record.

Well...

[Anonymous Coward]

If Americans didn't have to come up with a dumb holiday for everything, it wouldn't be an issue.

Limo

[Princeofcups]

Lars is going to drive his gold plated limo the 20 miles from his palatial palace to grace the event? I'm tempted to go just to spit at him.

Printing 2,100 records helps create a logjam???

[Nutria]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Production capacity must be pretty damned low.

Re:Printing 2,100 records helps create a logjam???

[Anonymous Coward]

Um... yes?

Welcome to niche consumer goods.

Re:Printing 2,100 records helps create a logjam???

[Anonymous Coward]

Demand must be pretty damn low. Vinyl fetishists want vintage. And why can't the few people who want new records print/bake their own? I thought we live in the maker age.

What exactly is the story here?

[Anonymous Coward]

I"m confused as to what the point of this story is. It sounds a lot like someone is trying to complain that "mainstream" music should leave vinyl alone, so that "up and coming" music (read hipsters) have less of a wait for their products.
 
  If so, this is some pretentious bullshit, right here.

I've asked this about...

[mykepredko]

- The "new" VW Bug
- Button fly jeans

I don't consider my self an old fart, but I don't understand the fascination with things that we moved away from because the products/technology that replaced them was so much better.

Growing up, I had a ton of records that, to preserve sound quality and make more convenient, put on audio tapes: when CDs came out, it was like a godsend as I could save a laborious and costly step.

Maybe celluloid collars and cathode ray computer monitors are next to make a come back.

Re:I've asked this about...

[KGIII]

A certain subset of users still use (expensive, even) CRT displays. My understanding is that the color reproduction is more faithful and that they're more realistically calibrated with the prints. On the other hand, I can't speak to the reality of that - I'm progressively colorblind but not dangerously so. I just can't tell the difference between tones and shades all the time. I might mistake yellow or red for orange, greens for blue, blue for purple, black for blue, etc...

I actually thought everybody was fucking with me. "No, Dave. That's blue." Me, "Like fuck it is, stop screwing with me." Eventually, enough people did it and I got my eyeball doctor to look into it. The thing is, I do pattern recognition really well so I pass all the colorblindness tests - plus, it seems, it gets worse with age. So, if you've ever seen something I've designed and I didn't use a color wheel or someone else's template, now you know why it might just look the way it does.

Why is this modded "Funny"?

[mykepredko]

I grew up in the '70s - if you considered yourself anything other than a loser that didn't know anything about audio, this is what you did.

That and worry about:
- Your turntable (always wanted a direct drive for providing the most accurate 33 RPM)
- Arm (had to be balanced to minimized forces on the cartridge, needle and record)
- Cartridge
- Needle

I have a Technics turntable with a Shure cartridge and needle that probably cost the equivalent of $2,000 today. I couldn't find needles for the cartridges for years (although I can now) but now that I have replaced most of my collection with CDs,

I haven't brought it out of the (orginal) box for a few years now.

The irony is, I can't sell it to anybody because it isn't "modern technology".

Sheep

[Anonymous Coward]

Sheep:

- because they follow the deceitful people who absolutely cluelessly say, absolutely incorrectly vinyl is a superior recording / playback medium
- because they do anything in particular on "vinyl day"

ba ba ba ba ba ba ba

Re:Sheep

[philco]

You are obviously someone who listens to Compact Disks. Where is the warmth in your medium?

Re:Sheep

[Anonymous Coward]

I have a few Compact Discs. I never heard of Compact Disks. What are they?

Re: Sheep

[cthulhu11]

I'm guessing you also think 2700k Tungsten light is "warm".

Re:Sheep

[Anonymous Coward]

"Warmth" (if you can define such a property objectively) is in the signal, not in the medium used to store it.

Hence, it's evident that a more accurate recording will reproduce any "warmth" better than a less accurate one. And your playback setup will reproduce it as well as it's able. If the "warmth" is added by your playback equipment, no medium will make a difference.

Re: Sheep

[Coren22]

You have to admit, they do put out quite a bit of heat.

Sooo.....

[Lodragandraoidh]

I got my vinyl album, a nail, and a hammer. I guess I'll just mount it on the wall here next to my CD, LaserDisk, Betamax, VHS, 8Track, and Compact Cassette tape.

I rate the most viable technologies by the level of damage the nail does to the technology in question. Right now the LaserDisk, CD, Compact Cassette, and vinyl record are leading, as the nail did a real number on the others.

Re:Sooo.....

[dissy]

I rate the most viable technologies by the level of damage the nail does to the technology in question. Right now the LaserDisk, CD, Compact Cassette, and vinyl record are leading, as the nail did a real number on the others.

I'm a little confused. Are you saying a technology is most viable if it comes with a hole in it?

Because I would imagine hammering that nail through the data part of a LaserDisk, CD, cassette, or vinyl would do a pretty bad number on those too :P

I'll just mount it on the wall here next to my CD, LaserDisk, Betamax, VHS, 8Track, and Compact Cassette tape.

For the VHS and betamax, there is a small protruding tab attached to a lever that when pressed in will allow the opening of the tape cover. Once opened you could then hang those by the cover itself on a nail without much if any damage too.

I admit 8 tracks are a few years before my time so can't offer wall mounting advice there, but it did get me a little curious.

I only recall the tape being exposed on the end similar to a compact cassette, but don't recall any holes through the thing for a gear to move the tape real inside.
How did the tape deck move the tape?

I also don't remember seeing any transparent 8 tracks, nor any gear mating holes, even on the back only. A one sided gear mate would certainly pose a problem for wall hanging.

Was the tape movement pure friction on the tape itself pulled into the deck or something?
Would it be possible to pull out a small loop of tape and hang that loop on a nail? Could that even support the tapes weight?

Curse you, I now foresee a time sink with google this evening ;P

Re:Sooo.....

[Lodragandraoidh]

The 8 track was a continuous loop - you can see a great picture of the inner workings at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... It used a pinch roller system to drive the tape - it was pulled from the center of the spool, and fed back onto the outside of the spool. Of course that means you couldn't rewind the tape - only go forward - so if you wanted to hear the last track you just heard, you had to fast forward all the way around until you got back to the original track.

My dad's stereo system only played albums and 8 track tapes - so I bought a few 8 tracks (Jackson 5 Triumph was one; can't recall the others) to hear what it sounded like on something other than my boom box (which back then didn't have much bass). It sounded pretty nice.

The whole nail and hammer bit was a snarky crack about obsolete technology and its relative usefulness. Of course, if you want to take that to its logical conclusion - the rules require you to hammer the nail through the device without modification to secure it to the wall. Hanging it on the nail after hammering the nail into the wall is cheating. As a result, technologies that provide a void/hole at some point are more successful than technologies that don't.

When is 8-track Day?

[Anonymous Coward]

I miss the warm, rich distortion from a low fidelity analog 8-track player. Best listened to with a pair of Sennheiser Orpheus.

3D Printed Vinyls

[Anonymous Coward]

Time to create that 3D printer capable of printing authentic vinyls at home. Just think of the opportunity for the HE manufacturers: "Our 3D vinyl printers have superior stabilization and environment dampening. For this pleasure you will gladly sell your Bentley and put your kid into public school. We promise."

Vinyl CDs of Digital Music...

[mlauzon]

That's all they are to me, if I want music on vinyl, then I'll go to a used record store and get the music that I listened to back in the late '70s and some of the '80s on real vinyl records with all the hisses & pops that go along with them. If I want a CD, then I'll go and buy a CD, but I will not waste my money on Vinyl CDs!

Kung Fu Fighting

[sgunhouse]

Not surprisingly, this song - somewhat modified - was used in the latest Kung Fu Panda movie. In that regard, 2100 copies is actually surprisingly small.

Re:Kung Fu Fighting

[Anonymous Coward]

That's a kids movie, most of the people watching are either children too young to buy vinyl, or parents too old to care about the hipster fad of buying vinyl.

Wanna buy my vinyl?

[martinfb]

I'll sell you my old record collection! $30/disc. No waiting.