The Vinyl Comeback According to Maurice van den Dobbelsteen

June 11, 2008 by David Kay
Filed under: Home Audio > Analog


- Image: Vintage Record Popcorn Bowl from Elsewares.com

Maurice van den Dobbelsteen has published an interesting thesis on the original decline of vinyl, the history of some obscure formats such as the DAT, DCC, and MiniDisc, the rise and subsequent fall of the CD at the hands of the MP3 and other competitive forces. Then he analyzes the recent resurgence of vinyl and the contributing factors surrounding it. You may want to grab a cup of coffee first, as the report clocks in at 55 pages.

Some excerpts:
"The E/DM culture started pointing a younger generation to turntables. Their visits to the shops, also helped to raise awareness of the black treasure that was available. The subculture of record collectors was once again - after indie rock - rejuvenated with an new generation. Demand for new Technics or audiophile Rega turntables remained stable."

"This sparked a totally unexpected renewed interest in vinyl replay both with youth and with generations that had experienced the transition to CD. As Fremer (1998) put it: 'Vinyl records are back in vogue, thanks to an odd alliance of veteran musicians, college-age alternative rockers, rap fans, dance club disk jockeys, recording engineers and audiophiles who have helped revive and strengthen a format all but given up for dead by the musical mainstream."

"Last year, Virgin Megastores UK announced it would re-arrange its stores to better accommodate vinyl records. According to the company, 'up to 70 percent of sales of new releases are vinyl' (Glover, 2006). In 2007, in the UK Virgin Megastores, vinyl outsells CDs 80% to 20% for albums available on both formats."

Source: Maurice van den Dobbelsteen's Vinyl Thesis
Comments (8)
Neil Middlemiss 2 years and 2 months ago

I started collecting vinyl because:

1) Cheap
2) Nostalgic
3) Great to listen to
lukas 2 years and 2 months ago

The real question is... do you have a vinyl popcorn bowl?
Neil Middlemiss 2 years and 2 months ago

No, but I am thinking about buying that one.

Maybe they should work on doing the same with a CD to hold peanuts...
lukas 2 years and 2 months ago

That would be cool, or a jumbo Laser Disc peanut holder.
Dave Kay 2 years and 2 months ago

Hopefully vinyl's new popularity will lead to albums that are once again decently produced. I've been shocked at how bad some of the CDs released in the last year or so sound.
sexygrampa 2 years and 2 months ago

The CD and mp3 have changed nearly the entire recording process. When the recorded music is finished it is listened to over an iPod or similar. You can't blame the artist nor the engineer: This is what most people are going to hear. Specifically, it's all bass and treble. The actual listening fatigue that ensues is well known. A major factor in the continued rise in vinyl sales is American Idol. The contestants have to sing real songs with real melodies. They cannot hide behind a heavy bass or loud treble sound. You actually hear the entire music spectrum. When downloading the idol recordings from iTunes there is a disappointment in the sound quality and the consumer is again beginning to appreciate that only vinyl will give them that total sound.
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