By Elle-Douglas-Brown
Gen-Z are now the biggest consumers of vinyl over any other age group, with record sales overtaking CDs for the first time in 2023. The once revolutionary streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Play with their endless choices and customisation are now in competition with highly fragile thin circles of plastic wound round by a needle with one set track list of songs. Records have from a forgotten corner in the local charity shop to being found in chain stores, all the way down to the high street WHSmith. And records are not the only retro electronics on the up and up again; they are racing alongside the return of the digital camera over smartphones.
So what has caused the return of older forms of media? It comes down to a multitude of reasons, first being the re-connection with artists. Variations of album releases with different vinyl editions have become a more popular part of an artist’s merchandise, as well as a physical signed item. It boosts an artist’s success, both by adding to sales and charting their albums and singles. Furthermore, the reclamation of physical media and single-use electronics has been on the rise with younger people wanting to detach themselves from their phones. This has also been seen with the resurgence of MP3s, digital and disposable cameras, portable DVD players and the online hatred for new Nintendo ‘licences’- a new phenomenon of spending £10 for a game you do not physically own but purchase the licence of playing. Nothing, however, has taken the same revival as the 12-inch record.
Are there any downsides to this rise in retro popularity? Unfortunately, the increase in demand on an already a small industry in such a short time frame has led to poorer results; with colourful, lighter vinyls being favoured over the standard black 180g press, the overall quality of listening has been lowered. Big artists are also being criticised for just how many vinyls are being produced per album cycle. Last year, Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poet’s Department was released in eight different pressings. No one needs eight versions of the same songs. At least Swift’s team had the decency of adding a singular song difference to each variation. Sabrina Carpenter’s Short and Sweet despite only releasing nine months into 2024 debuted with ten variations (including deluxe editions), and Billie Eilish’s recycled vinyls of Hit Me Hard and Soft were collectable in nine different colours. However it was Dua Lipa who took the crown last year with fourteen variations of her Radical Optimism album. Like many trends, record collection has sadly been added to the overconsumption pile.
Similarly, many vinyl consumers are not always listeners. Vinyls have become more collectable than a format of listening to an estimated 48% of buyers. Considering the average 1lp album costs £30, it is not exactly a cheap hobby to simply look at. The bi-annual Record Store Day in the UK has also been tainted by these pesky collectors. What was once a release day to support independent record stores with exclusive vinyl sales of artists, soundtracks and even audiobooks has become a resale nightmare. Once collectors got the early bus down to their nearest independent store at a healthy 5am, now they sit on e-bay looking at a £15 7-inch single only available at inflated prices between £60-300! Believe me – I’ve checked!
At the expense of mass production, many smaller artists have been affected. In 2021, independent artists were backlogged around six months on vinyl production due to Sony Music pre-ordering half a million copies of Adele’s 30 album. This caused smaller artists’ production to be delayed up to a year due to the heavy demand on such a small industry. On a personal note as a collector myself for the past five years, I can’t walk past a 30 record in HMV without sighing. Have we gone too far?