- Image: Vintage Record Popcorn Bowl from Elsewares.com
Maurice van den Dobbelsteen has published an interesting thesis on the original decline of vinyl, the history of some obscure formats such as the DAT, DCC, and MiniDisc, the rise and subsequent fall of the CD at the hands of the MP3 and other competitive forces. Then he analyzes the recent resurgence of vinyl and the contributing factors surrounding it. You may want to grab a cup of coffee first, as the report clocks in at 55 pages.
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Some excerpts:
"The E/DM culture started pointing a younger generation to turntables. Their visits to the shops, also helped to raise awareness of the black treasure that was available. The subculture of record collectors was once again - after indie rock - rejuvenated with an new generation. Demand for new Technics or audiophile Rega turntables remained stable."
"This sparked a totally unexpected renewed interest in vinyl replay both with youth and with generations that had experienced the transition to CD. As Fremer (1998) put it: 'Vinyl records are back in vogue, thanks to an odd alliance of veteran musicians, college-age alternative rockers, rap fans, dance club disk jockeys, recording engineers and audiophiles who have helped revive and strengthen a format all but given up for dead by the musical mainstream."
"Last year, Virgin Megastores UK announced it would re-arrange its stores to better accommodate vinyl records. According to the company, 'up to 70 percent of sales of new releases are vinyl' (Glover, 2006). In 2007, in the UK Virgin Megastores, vinyl outsells CDs 80% to 20% for albums available on both formats."
