The sound difference is not the only attraction of vinyl records. Some young people have found that the presence of music as a tangible item is something unique and entrancing.
“Vinyl records are physical art forms of music and instruments. Young people were born with digital music that is invisible and cannot be touched. I think that’s what they were missing and what they started looking for,”says Michael Serafini, a Chicago-based DJ and the owner of Gramaphone Records, one of the oldest record shops in Chicago.
In 2015, the sales of vinyl records were $5.6 million, an increase of 38 percent compared to last year, according to the 2015 Neilsen music U.S. midyear report. This “vinyl revival,” a term used by the media and the listeners to describe the increase of the interest and sales of vinyl records among younger generation, is happening at Gramaphone, too.
Serafini explains, “It wasn’t like the sales increased drastically, but it has been increasing slowly for the last few years.” However, those who contributed to those sales were not even born in the disco era. Serafini explains that the age of customers at Gramaphone ranges from 16 to 49, and the median age is from 19 to 32. The young people who hadn’t seen vinyl records in their childhood are now interested in the big discs.
“For the younger generation, I think the idea of music being attached to a physical form is something new, different and cool. Some of them just put the records on the wall because they think that’s cool. That’s how they see records, I think that’s interesting,” said Serafini, with a wry smile on his face.
How are vinyl records different from digital music? First of all, the sound is different, “vinyl records have less frequency spectrum,” explains Yuki Tasaka, a sound engineer at TRAX Records in Chicago. “There is less information of sound in vinyl records than in digital music,” continued Tasaka. That means, digital music is better than vinyl records quality-wise. “What people like about records is I think they sound warmer than computer sound. Also, the way vinyl records make sound is similar to an instrument, so they say that records sound more real.”
Tasaka started his career as a DJ thanks to the evolution of digital music. “All I had to spend was $700 for a sound controller to attach to my computer,” he recalled. If he’d started as a vinyl DJ, he would’ve had to buy two turntables, about $2,400 each, and all the vinyl records to play.
Digital music has made his work easier, too. When he attends events as a DJ, all he needs to bring is a flash drive, whereas he would have to bring hundreds of records if he was a vinyl DJ.
“Also data exchange is possible with digital music,” Tasaka said. When he works on music production, he downloads instruments or sound samples online and combines them with his work. Digital music has definitely benefited the fledgling musicians/DJs without equipment.
Tasaka says, “I didn’t want money to be the reason to prevent me from becoming a DJ.” When talking about convenience, vinyl records appear a little weak. Even though the sales of vinyl records went up by 38%, it only accounts for 2 percent of the whole sales, according to Neilsen report.
“My parents own a record player and vinyl records,”says Komori Kotaro, a freshman who participates in a jazz program at North Central College. “When I’m at home, I like to listen to them, but it’s too much work for me to prepare and play records by myself.”
Kotaro explains that, “I use ‘i-music.’ It’s an app and if I choose a music genre, the computer selects songs for me. I pay annually and I can download all of them for offline use.”
Digital music has provided convenience that some people can no longer do without. We will soon discover the role that vinyl records will play in this convenient tech-world will be discovered.
“I don’t think it’ll ever be how it used to be before,” says Serafini when asked what he thinks the sales of vinyl records will be in the future. “(Are they) going to be the main forms of music? No. Will they disappear? No.”
