If you’re a musician and you’re contemplating whether it’s worth it to release music in vinyl, we strongly suggest that you give it a go because people are definitely buying vinyl records again.
Making a vinyl record might sound tedious, time-consuming, and expensive…and it probably is. However, there are so many ways you can make your first vinyl pressing experience easy and economical.
We are telling you now, without any bias, that releasing in vinyl is definitely worth it.
#1 Vinyl just hit 25-year high in sales last year.
Sales of vinyl in 2016 reached a 25-year high as consumers young and old have once again embraced physical formats of music.
More than 3.2m LPs were sold last year, a rise of 53% on last year and the highest number since 1991 when Simply Red’s Stars was the bestselling album. This was also the first year that spending on vinyl outstripped that spent on digital downloads. The statistics, compiled by BPI, show that this is the ninth consecutive year that vinyl has grown.
via: The Guardian [ Record sales: vinyl hits 25-year high]
Consulting firm Deloitte forecasts the vinyl music industry will post double-digit growth in 2017 for the seventh year in a row, selling 40 million new discs and generating as much as $900 million in revenue.
via: CNN [Sony to produce records again after 28-year break]
#2 The young ones love em.
According to MusicWatch, 56 percent of vinyl records purchasers are men, and almost half of purchasers are under 25 years old.
Miriam Linna, president of the independent label Norton Records, told CNBC in an email “Now with the internet and instant gratification, the younger record fans still love the feel and sound of a physical artifact. It’s highly personal,” she added, saying music has been “on a vinyl comeback trail for 30 years.”
#3 We love the feel of a record
This is perhaps what drew you to this decision in the first place. The picture frame quality of the album art, the pride of holding an actual physical record in your hands, and the fantastically warm, rich sound coming from your speakers or headphones once the needle drops.
Vinyl has a certain authenticity that CD’s, MP3’s or streaming services simply can’t deliver. This legitimacy is amplified when you have the opportunity to release your own. The feeling of releasing an actual record is certainly exciting.
NUFF SAID!
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James Hill is a veteran of the music industry. He first worked at Warner Reprise Records then later joined Interscope/ Geffen Records where he managed producers and songwriters and got his first platinum record for Keyshia Cole’s The Way It Is. He is now helping indie artists with branding and manufacturing through his company Unified Manufacturing, a CD/DVD/vinyl and merch company in LA.
