My friend Kirk who has the Record Collector here (recordcollectorinc.com) has seen the bottom completely drop out of dance vinyl sales. This corresponds with several local DJs who used to buy a couple hundred dollars a month in vinyl from him switching to Serrato or Final Scratch or Tractor Scratch.
I haven't been buying vinyl like I used to either. Mostly because of losing my corporate job in 2002 and moving to the University for a 1/3 cut in pay. Also because I don't get asked to spin hardly at all. The attraction of using a digital means to play music is undeniable. While I love the tactile aspects of playing vinyl, having 500 tracks available in Ableton Live ready to drop without beatmatching changes how I think about playing tracks. Partly because my mechanical DJing skills would sometimes get in the way of really feeling what I mix -- I make no claim to great skills on the decks. But also because I can try more combinations out through the headphones before choosing a track, and having some visual feedback on track structure. And shopping for vinyl has always been fraught with spotty distribution and ordering -- you buy what you can find, and many things you might want are unobtainable. Stores like bleep.com and warp.com aren't constrained by the physical availability of PVC biscuits -- if they have a deal to sell downloads, you can have it on your computer in minutes. And even a modest laptop can hold many crates of tracks, give you the option of doing your own edits, can be backed up to DVDR, and is instantly searchable. I will continue to buy vinyl and CD when that's the only available format. But all you label guys take note: if I'm bored at work and you post a link to your awesome new tracks, with sound samples, I am powerless to resist the lure of the instant buy and download, and I suspect I'm not alone! Note also, I have a large hard drive filled with 'unofficial' downloads, but I almost never use tracks from it, because I want to support the artists. If it's unobtainable in any other medium, or if I own the record and can't put my hands on it I will, but it's amazing how little of the music you get for free means to you compared to the things you seek out and buy. On 6/26/07, robin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
The younger generation are definitely in love with digital downloads. It must be that the kids coming through are using CDs and laptops. I guess it's a natural progression. I mean it's easier to shove this stuff on your iPod for listeing on the train but I still prefer vinyl (even after recording in, most digital mastering is a bit heavy handed on the compressor). Anyway, I digress. That Redshape on Delsin is ace.
