Vinyl records are presently undergoing a revival, despite the industry and press judging vinyl dead during the 90s. Pleasingly, the record shelves are once again brimming with vinyl and the current market for vinyl is very healthy with sales steadily on the rise. Even in an era of Ipads, computer downloads and MP3s.
The precursor and early development of vinyl started in the 50s with the ‘breakable’ shellec 78s. These 78rpm records were very fragile and broke easily, leading to their quick replacement with the type of vinyl records we know and love today.
Vinyl suffered its greatest downturn in sales during the 90s when increasing technological advances saw the introduction of the CD. This became the go-to format for music listeners. Today, multiple formats compete together enabling consumers to choose how that decide to listen to music. These include vinyl, CDs and digital downloads.
CDs, much like downloads have been promoted on the ease of use and sound quality, which has always been questionable. As most record collectors will attest, the sound quality on vinyl is superior. This is because CDs and downloads have restricted or compressed sound. The sounds can be muddied and sometimes lost on these mediums of playback. Most vinyl collectors, when asked, prefer an analogue sound as opposed to a digitised sound. On vinyl, you can hear the beautiful vocals to the fullest extent and the whole multitude of instruments involved in all their glory as they were meant to heard. This leads to a more complete and enjoyable listening experience. Another misconception is that CDs or downloads last forever. However, this is just not the case. A digital file can be deleted and a CD can be scratched or jump just as easy as a vinyl record if not taken care of.
Clearly, the resurgence of vinyl is in full throttle. The CD and download have not replaced our precious 45s and 33s, merely just added to the wealth of available music formats. Many favourite classic rock and pop records are being reissued on high quality 180 gram heavyweight vinyl pressings. The utmost care is taken when reproducing these titles with the quality that they deserve.
The continual reports of the death of demise of vinyl have been quite frankly ridiculous. Record plants have sprung back into action over the past couple of years, with some now struggling to cope with the demand for vinyl, such is its recent revival. Music lovers are back in the record shops digging through creates of records and collectables. They are also searching for records online using the internet to source vinyl they are unable to find in the shops. You get a real buzz sifting through album covers, looking at interesting creative artwork on them. The size of a vinyl album or single cover is ideal for display as well. It is preferential to that of a small CD cover of tiny MP3 download cover. You can actually see it properly in the quality it was meant to be seen.
Vinyl records now make up a large proportion of the music market. It is once again becoming the preferred choice for music aficionados. Vinyl is alive and thriving. If you are just starting to collect vinyl you can find both new and second-hand records in the Planet Earth Records online record store. For seasoned collectors, they also have a wonderful selection of rarer records in stock.
Planet Earth Records have an interesting range of vinyl records for sale, from the modern releases, right back to the 50s.