Play it again: Vinyl’s return is music to recording industry
Toronto: As music lovers approach a new decade in this still-young century, a recording technology once considered old and obsolete — vinyl — has been making a strong comeback. Vinyl albums, which began to be replaced by CDs in the mid-1980s, have rebounded in recent years as enthusiasts young and old turned sentimental for the old pops, cracks and warm sounds emitting from grooves on a record. And as sales have rebounded, music makers ranging from big acts like Jack White and the Flaming Lips to local bands in major cities have been cranking out vinyl and treating fans with added material like old-style liner notes or posters. If bands can keep costs low, they may even be able to make extra money in the financially-strapped music business where cheap digital downloads are replacing once-lucrative CD sales. While vinyl records never truly became extinct from record store shelves, the current resurgence seems to have picked up pace starting around 2007. Last year, 1.9 million vinyl records sold, roughly double 2007. Industry tracker Nielsen SoundScan projects that 2.8 million units will be purchased in 2009. A wide range of bands, from Beatles to Bob Dylan and Metallica, have been shipping albums on vinyl. Vinyl’s renaissance springs from both musicians and fans longing for something more tangible than just listening to music on a digital file, said Paul Simcoe, co-owner of Toronto’s Criminal Records. REUTERS BE KIND, REWIND: A CD of a latest album along with a vinyl copy is on sale in Toronto
