Sales of CDs Shrink As LPs Enjoy a Comeback
When the Compact Disc was introduced in 1983, most of us stored our record collections in the garage. Here's an interesting story about the resurgence of the LP.
From Business Wire: Vinyl records and turntables, once relegated to garage storage boxes are enjoying a strong resurgence according to online vinyl record seller, GEMM. “Sales of vinyl records have increased 20% since 2005,” said Roger Raffee, co-founder and company CEO. GEMM (Global E-commerce Mega Marketplace) began selling vinyl records online in 1994. Today GEMM’s consortium of sellers has over 20 million vinyl records available for sale. Considered by music aficionados to be the grandfather of online music sales, GEMM, functions purely as a marketplace where buyers and sellers transact deals for everything from classic rock albums to recordings from current indie bands. Some suggest renewed interest in album sales is driven by the dance club DJ craze. Audiophiles claim that vinyl records produce a warmer, richer sound. Whatever the case, CD sales dropped 10% in 2006 and 20% in 2007 while sales of vinyl records have increased nearly 10% a year since the late nineties. Not just classic recordings, either. Elvis Costello recently announced that his new recording, Mokofuku set for release on April 22nd will only be available on vinyl and through digital download.
If you still have your collection of LPs, here's a new way to enjoy them - transfer them to CDs with a USB turntable. I'm having a great time reviewing the Audio-Technica AT-LP2D-USB turntable and transferring some of my favorite LPs to CD. LPs don't have the wide dynamic range of a compact disc, but it's hard to beat the warm, rich sound of a good record. Check back soon to read the full review.
Comments
I recently played some old Fleetwood Mac I have on vinyl and I had forgotten how good vinyl can sound. The song Bermuda Triangle sounded fantastic!
I have been carrying my vinyl collection around for years, much to the chagrin of my wife. I have a collection of around 600 classic rock albums and I still shop for them in thrift stores (they are a great source of good vinyl). I bought seven new ones this last weekend. I have a converter that plays the album into my computer that I got at Comp USA for 50 bucks. Best investment I have made in years. P.S. I still have the very first album I bought in 1974, Steppenwolf Live.
I have a collection of approx. 4500 lp’s, and approx. 6000 45’s. These are played on an everyday basis when i am at home. I still(even after over 50 years of collecting) love them more then cd’s.
If you have decent equipment (which doesn’t have to cost a fortune) you can piece together a system that even rivals a CD player (in fact, when I play records I often get tricked into thinking I’m listening to MP3/Digital Playback). I dont recommend the USB turntable, for the same amount of money you paid for a USB table you can find a used linear tracking turntable (I recommend the Technics SL-10), this turntable scans where the spaces are inbetween songs then the end user can punch a number to listen to that track. I recommend a Linear Tracking turntable cause it reads the audio accurately, and it’s easy to record an album this way. Anyhow, my 2 cents…