For as long as vinyl records have been tossed out as yesterday’s technology in a practical “one man’s trash…” fashion, many vinyls are still getting picked up by music fans and collectors. Those numbers are rising.
Although there are now countless different files types for music and tons of devices to play them, it seems that when the idea of buying a new record comes about, People (Moorpark college students included) are reverting back to the format of needle and groove and opting to buy vinyl, causing a resurgence in sales for the seemingly dead technology.
“They don’t sound better in quality, they just sound better.” Devin Shanahan said.
Shanahan is a freshman at Moorpark and has been producing music for over a year, he has been around music and people in the music business his whole life. Vinyl records are anything but new technology. Although music compression and record distribution nowadays is able to deliver the highest studio-quality sound right to your computer, people are deciding to downgrade in their listening experience. According to the British Recorded Music Industry BPI, Vinyl sales in the first quarter of this year were up over 75%, making it the third consecutive gain.
From ease of using samples in new music productions to the feel-good idea and practice of throwing a record on, it seems that more and more people are making the decision to stick with the past instead of leaping into the present.
“Sampling is fun, you can take something that’s finished and restart it kinda…” said Shanahan when talking about how he uses the vinyl he buys. He starts with finding a good record he enjoys as is, finding a portion of it that stands out, isolating, and then manipulating that portion into what eventually becomes a completely different song.
Even without the music-making mindset however, students are still finding themselves seeking comfort in dusty record shops as opposed to organized file libraries. Alan Kennedy, a film major at Moorpark says he enjoys the process that comes with playing a record, and like most vinyl fans, according to him, crate-digging.
“It’s such a cool feeling, when your digging and find a great record, it’s like gold in the hills” Kennedy said, “You’re not even looking for a record really, you’re just looking for music.”
Kennedy, who used to run a DJ time-slot at his former college, enjoys classic rock, making his crate-digging a little easier than someone trying to find new music on vinyl. Although he has almost never regretted a record purchase, Kennedy does however have one quarrel with his love for vinyl.
“I wish when one side of the record finished, the needle just went right back to the beginning.” Kennedy joked.
Although it’s not entirely understandable why people are stuck on vinyl, it seems that the number of listeners reverting playback to the basics is increasing. From trading the perfect sound to a vintage feel, the quality depth with the crackly soul, vinyls fans can rejoice in knowing that the needle’s time in the groove is far from over for music fans.
