In The Digital Age, Is Vinyl Back?

I didn’t even think that vinyl record albums were still popular. I’ve had some recent vague awareness of albums being sold in Target or Barnes & Noble. But the ubiquitous little record stores of my youth seemed to have trickled away. Later on there was still a remaining Amoeba Music in LA, but no more Sam Goody’s, and no more Tower Records (unless you want to fly to Japan to visit one). I believed that CD’s and then online shopping and streaming had elbowed record albums into the dustbin of nostalgia. All the record stores of my youth were a thing of the past, done in by the digital age. Or so I thought.

But now my faith in the younger generations has been restored. Even though #Record Store Day has been around since 2007, I just recently learned about them. RSD is a yearly celebration conceived by independent record store owners and employees. Record Store Day’s purpose is to celebrate the culture and music of the independent record store, to bring together fans, artists, marketers and labels- with vinyl records at the heart of it all. Around the world, #independent record stores hold Record Store Days on a Saturday in April every year, and every Black Friday in November. Hundreds of recording and other artists make special appearances and performances, do fund raisers and issue special vinyl, CD releases and promotions.Yearly there is an honorific title of “Ambassador” bequeathed on artists- ranging from Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne, Iggy Pop, Run the Jewels, Brandi Carlisle, Paramore, and 2024’s Kate Bush.?

My happy revelation that many younger folk are (re)discovering music on vinyl records came about by a fluke. My friend got some information on Facebook telling her about promotional music items for one of her favorite groups for RSD 2024. So we ended up heading for the nearest participating record store on Saturday April 20 Record Store Day to see what we could find.?

The record shop we visited was Factory Records 440 East 17th Street Costa Mesa CA 92627. The small place was buzzing with people waiting to get in. Store owner Dave Noise was overseeing the line, chatting with everyone. He seemed to know each person by name (even their dogs). Dave has collected, traded and sold record albums and CD’s since 1979, and has owned this Costa Mesa store since 2010. He also runs the Noise Noise Noise Records Label with his wife Lisa.?

The promotional item we were trying to find was sold out at #Factory Records, but Dave Noise graciously took the time to call at least five other local places for us, to see if they had it. He didn’t seem to mind that he was possibly sending business to some other record shop. Record shop folk must be a tight-knit community that look out for each other- Dave had all these? contacts immediately in his phone and briefly chatted on each call. None had the item, but it was not for lack of Dave Noise trying hard that we didn’t find it.

Attendees for this Record Store Day were not just older folks that actually grew up listening to physical musical formats like vinyl and CD’s. This was a dedicated crowd of avid collectors and music fans, with plenty of Gen Z and Millennials represented.? There’s apparently a growing appreciation by the younger set for the nuanced sound of analog music, away from the colder technical nature of digital. Plus nothing can beat some the cool artwork of album covers. Think of the Beatle’s famous Abbey Road, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, The Velvet Underground and Nico with Andy Warhol’s banana graphic, David Bowie’s Aladdin Sane, Prince’s Purple Rain…the classic album artwork list goes on. ?

So when I realized there were so many younger people that love vinyl record albums, I did a little research. According to Billboard, 49.61 million vinyl albums were sold in the US last year. That has gone up 14.2% from 2022. 7% of all US records sold in 2023-3.484 million records- were from Taylor Swift (1989, Speak Now, Midnights).?

Despite not finding the promotional item we wanted, #RSD 2024 was a hit for me anyway. Discovering the existence of Record Store Day made me happy, realizing that upcoming generations are discovering the value of older technology that I fondly favor. It gives us common ground. Maybe I’ll dust off some albums in my record collection, and listen for the fun memories. I could also try an app such as Discogs or Vinyl Price Lookup and see what current value my old albums might have. I know I don’t have Wu-Tang Clan’s Once Upon a Time in Shaolin- there was only one copy made and it sold for 2 million (!!). However I could have another album of worth. Maybe one of those 18 (mostly destroyed) Rolling Stones’ Street Fighting Man albums would be a nice surprise- at $17,000 or so…?

Who says retirement income just has to be from a 401k? ?