Why have young people returned to vinyl?

Bulky, anachronistic, demanding maintenance and only capable of storing a little over 40 minutes of music, vinyl has been experiencing a renaissance in recent years that is difficult to understand at first glance, but unquestionable in terms of figures. For the first time since the CD became popular in the early 1990s, vinyl sales have surpassed its successor in the main markets in 2022, and they have achieved it driven by the younger generations, who for a few years have been become consumers of music in this physical format while the CD gradually declines.

Born in 1948 by Columbia Records, the 33-rev vinyl record, known as long play or LP, lived decades of glory until the arrival of the cassette in the eighties and later the CD relegated it to ostracism from collectors and music lovers in love with its peculiar sound. All seemed lost with the advent of streaming music, but in a twist of fate, the fragile vinyl record has re-emerged in recent decades to crown itself the king of physical music.

“Vinyl sales have grown over the last five years, it’s an unstoppable rise,” explains Carlos García from the counter at Surco, who has been serving the public for 49 years and is one of the oldest record-selling stores in Barcelona. From his position, he has been able to verify how the young public is responsible for this boom: “Two or three years ago you had to have The Beatles, Dire Straits, Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin”, some names that have been replaced by Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish or Rihanna. “Here the best-selling album by far is Rosalía’s,” he confirms. And he points out that customers in their twenties have begun to enter his store in the Gràcia neighborhood looking for vinyl, when before everyone was over forty.

Jesús Moreno, responsible for the well-known Discos Revolver on Calle Tallers, next to La Rambla, is of the same opinion. streaming, that is, the youngest. “They wanted to go to vinyl as if it were a novelty, you just have to look at the best-selling records in England: Taylor Swift, Harry Styles and Arctic Monkeys.” Figures that confirm the fact that young Americans of generation Z, those born after 1995, are 27% more likely to buy vinyl than other age groups, according to the Luminate report.

The increase in vinyl sales is not only a matter of specialized stores, this trend is also noticeable in large venues such as Fnac. “Vinyls are sold out, both the new releases and the reissues and back catalogues,” explains Sara Vega Gil, director of marketing and communication at Fnac Spain, noting that there is more demand than supply, although vinyl has not yet been released in its stores. surpassed the CD, which remains at 44% of sales against 56% of the compact. “Many reruns have to wait at least six months or more, which increases the interest in getting a copy of the most popular titles.” What there is no doubt for Sara Gil is the interest of young people for vinyl, in which they find “another way to enjoy music at home, in a more relaxed way and on a physical support that can be kept as a souvenir”, a trend that also seems to affect cassette sales, which have grown by more than 150% compared to 2021 in its stores.

It is precisely this function of the record as a souvenir that is behind a large part of the sales, as shown by the fact that, according to the same Luminate study, only 50% of vinyl buyers own a player.

“Artists like Taylor Swift work on covers and make double editions,” explains Jesús Moreno, noting that better quality vinyl has been produced for about 15 years, including new material when it comes to reissues. “In classics where eight songs used to come out, now there are double editions with 15 songs that include demos, but the price is also double.”

A good part of these records come from Pressplay Vinyl, the main producer of vinyl records in Spain, born at the end of the last decade to take advantage of the pull of this format. Records such as Rosalía’s Motomami or the works of C. Tangana have come out of their factory in Urduliz (Bizkaia), as well as numerous reissues of records that came out directly on CD and are now publishing their vinyl version. “We have clients of all kinds and sizes, from small labels to big ones like Sony, Universal or Warner,” explains Gonzalo de la Maza, its marketing manager, and points out that currently “the designs are very elaborate, with many options for customization” to respond to the demand of artists who are very interested in making colored vinyl instead of black, with effects on the PVC itself and different printing finishes. “A differentiation is sought”, an improvement in quality that Carlos García certifies when he recalls how in the eighties “records were infamous, recycled a thousand times, they danced when you played them and had a terrible sound”. Currently, on the other hand, “most of the records are 180 grams, they look perfect on the turntable, most are remastered and sound perfect,” he explains, while noting that he has come to buy new records that he already had, “because now they sound better”.

This improvement has been accompanied by an increase in the price of records, which in recent years has reached 50%. “Vinyl has skyrocketed in price so much that you can’t get in with all the artists,” explains Jordi Llansamà, from the BCore store, also a record label specializing in punk, rock and alternative indie music. “In the end it will become a luxury object, it is already difficult to find them for less than 20 euros.”

Of the same opinion is Jesús Moreno, who blames this price increase on a certain withdrawal on the part of lifelong vinyl consumers, who refuse to pay more than necessary for limited editions. “It becomes a luxury item”, he explains, and highlights the tendency of many rhythm and blues or hip-hop groups to sell records “that go quietly to 40 or 45 euros”. Behind this increase may be hidden the interest of the distributors to increase their income taking advantage of the new fashion, although Gonzalo de la Maza points more to structural reasons, such as the increase in raw materials and energy. “We adapt to any rise or fall, in fact, a few months ago we lowered prices because we saw that it was possible.”

At a stark distance from streaming, vinyl records offer a different way of listening to music, as Jordi Llansamà points out: “When you are at home, if you are a great music lover and you like to listen to the originals on vinyl, you listen to it like this . The sound quality has nothing to do with it, and the disposition when you listen to vinyl is not the same as when you are working or in the car”. “With good equipment, there is an equalization and a sound that is currently the best”, confirms Jesús Moreno, and points out that for him “there is no better sound than that of the sixties and seventies, that sound has been unbeatable”. “You have to place the vinyl, put the needle, halfway through the record you have to change it, you have to be aware”, explains Carlos Ruiz proudly, and remembers that “when someone buys a vinyl and hears it, they really listen to it” .