(Newswire.net — August 5, 2017) — The moment you know you’re old is the moment you start referring to how things were “better in the old days”. I’m only in my thirties, but I already find myself doing this. Tech has come so far that there are actually very few things that are better on the surface, but when you dig a little deeper it’s a different story.
Modern games are blockbusters and they are beautiful through and through. But many of them lack the soul—the playability that you got with old games. Even in an age of eSports this can be felt. After all, the biggest games professionally are not new titles like “COD” and “Battlefield 1”, but classics like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
Music is the same. As a rock and metal fan, the glory days of my genre are long gone, but it’s not about the music itself, it’s the formats that play it. These days we have media that are as crisp and as perfect as being right there in the studio. But as good as this sounds, it has taken the soul out of music a bit and that has caused a surge in vinyl sales.
Vinyl Sales
In 2017 we’re experiencing a huge surge in sales of vinyl records, as older customers seek a return to their youth and newer ones just want a taste of a style that was popular before their birth. This shows signs of continuing as well, because vinyl sales have increased by over 50% just since 2015.
There are many factors involved with this. Firstly, after sensing a trend to return to old formats, bands have started releasing more vinyl records than they had done previously. They are also paying more attention to the covers and the inserts, making them as unique and as beautiful as they once were. Part of buying a vinyl was seeing this artwork and the inserts, much like buying a limited edition game or book, and as more has been done to focus on this, the sales have increased.
A few recent celebrity deaths have also helped these sales. Prince, Bowie, Lemmy, George Michael and many other stars of the vinyl age have all passed in recent years. Fans who listened to them in their heyday have been searching for a return to that youth and vinyl has been the answer.
Finally, while vinyls are a little more expensive than digital formats, the turntables that play them are cheaper and better than ever. They are able to offer the warmth of a vinyl record, without the high price tag. On sites like Vinyl Vintage you can see reviews of the best turntables for less than $50, with even the premium ones coming in at under $100.
In other words, it’s all of the things we love rolled into one. It’s nostalgia, it’s quality sound, great packaging and it’s cheap. What more could you ask for?