Vinyl records hit a strong note in digital age

With the rise in popularity of digital music devices, you would be forgiven for thinking the old-school vinyl has had its day in the sun.

But music retailers say there will always be a place for vinyl and some have even noticed an increase in sales.

Real Groovy Records in Auckland has seen an increase in demand and so is focusing on growing its selection of both new and second-hand vinyl.

Kurt Lye, vinyl trader for Real Groovy Records, says the resurgence is partly due to people wanting their music to be more than just a “piece of information on a chip”.

“People are looking for something more tactile and with more of a quality feel to it.”

Kiwi electro rap duo Coco Solid released their album Graffiti Girls For Life on 12-inch vinyl last year.

One half of the duo, Jessica Hansell, says that although CDs and MP3s are great music mediums, they have a “conceptual disposable quality that records don’t really have”.

“Sourcing and putting a record on the turntable is a bit more physical than the easier options we now have.

“It’s a vintage experience and something train-spotters can really sink their teeth into,” she says.

Roger Marbeck, owner of Marbeck’s music stores and managing director of Ode Record Company, has also noticed the trend in vinyl.

He says people enjoy pulling the record out of its sleeve and physically placing it on the record player.

He describes listening to vinyl as “an event”.

“You sit down and listen to an album. It’s got a romance to it.”

Cian O’Donnell is the co-owner of Conch Records in Ponsonby, a store specialising in vinyl.

In his store vinyl has consistently out-sold CDs, although he says the sale of vinyl has “flat lined”.

He believes there will always be a market for this musical platform.

“For me it doesn’t appeal to have a file on my computer or iPod. I need something I can physically grab a hold of.

“There is no comparison between hearing music mixed in analogue format to music that is digitised. The sound is far warmer.”

Vinyl enthusiast Stu Reddrop describes vinyl as the “last bastion of tangible music”.

An old James Brown record “sounds better on vinyl than CD”, he says.

“You lose the edge and rawness of the music when it is converted to digital.”

O’Donnell says digitising and downloading music cheapens the music but “if you don’t embrace technology you’ll be left behind.”

In a digital age where tracking music sales is becoming increasingly difficult, Lye says some record companies see the resurgence of vinyl as a “lifeline”.

He has noticed a lot more vinyl re-issues and box sets with special artwork and posters.

According to Marbeck, however, not all record companies are embracing this nostalgic music medium.

Because the cost of pressing vinyl, reject rates, freight and storage are high, he says “most record companies are probably banging their heads on their desks”.