Death of Vinyl? Nah
Death of vinyl record greatly
exaggerated
By ALLAN WIGNEY -- Ottawa Sun
Earlier this month, my seven-year-old niece regaled
her parents with a tale of prestidigitation from the
classroom.
Her teacher, it seems, had managed to coax music
out of a large, round disc, simply by spinning the
black circle and placing a needle on it. The students
were suitably dazzled and, like Stephanie, no doubt
rushed home to share the story with their families.
It's a reminder of the state of audio technology. But
I suspect my niece and her classmates will
encounter record albums again. As will their
children, and their children.
Reports of the death of vinyl, first issued 20 years
ago, remain greatly exaggerated. In fact, sales of
vinyl records have reportedly doubled in the past five
years. That doesn't bring them back to the sort of
sales figures they enjoyed in the days when records
laughed at lesser formats, but it's more than can be
said for their would-be assassin, the compact disc.
Audiophiles have stepped forward in recent years to
report that, in fact, analog records sound far
superior and offer a greater sonic range than CDs.
It's something DJs, who have steadfastly clung to
vinyl, have known all along.
Records, properly cared for, will also likely last
longer than CDs. (There is some debate over exactly
how long the average CD will last before it is
claimed by oxidation, but suffice to say if there's a
scratch on it, that disc is doomed.) Besides, it just
feels so cool to hold a new record in your hands.
The major labels continue to live in denial, refusing
to admit they brought the current pirating scare on
themselves by promoting a format that is ideal for
copying, then telling us our treasured purchases are
worthless. They fought hard to finish vinyl off, by
raising the price of records, adding "bonus" tracks to
new CDs, issuing CD-only compilations, delaying
shipments of new records to stores to ensure rabid
fans chose the CD and, willfully manufacturing
inferior pressings and, ultimately, simply removing
all records from their catalogues.
WEARY PUBLIC
When they attempted to repeat the process a few
short years later with DCCs (digital compact
cassettes), a weary public finally said enough. But
by then, vinyl looked to be in its death throes.
Yet records live on, while CDs struggle. And in
some ways, vinyl is again laughing at the
competition, as it watches the industry decry the
popularity of downloading music. No one is pressing
records at home; but, with the price of CDs still
extortionately high, few people feel guilty about
growing their own.
Not that vinyl has returned to the major stores, yet.
You'll find records at HMV in Toronto and New
York, but here in Ottawa it is the independent stores
which are cashing-in on vinyl's resurrection.
Neighbouring Glebe stores Organised Sound and
Birdman Sound, for instance, carry a wealth of new
records, alongside a comparative handful of CDs.
American indie labels like Sundazed and Get Back
Records have found a healthy audience for lovingly
packaged vinyl reissues of material that deserved
better than the indignity of digital remastering. Even
the seven-inch single is staying alive, as a format of
choice for punk bands. Take that, CD-singles!
And so, 20 years after the first shovel full of dirt
was unceremoniously dumped on vinyl, we find
stereo dealers once again carrying turntables, major
artists releasing 12-inch singles and more and more
people beginning to sense scratches in the CD's
facade. If vinyl is dying, it is at least going out in
style.
Remember those CD-scratching units heavily
advertised a year ago? Neither does my niece.
