Why the Vinyl Boom is Over - WSJ

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by seaisletim, Jul 22, 2017.

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  1. abor1g

    abor1g Forum Resident

    Location:
    Gwada
    it s the french name for Vinyl but i am sure you understood it . LOL
    but as you say between the lines, it's not important, the name we give
     
  2. tmwlng

    tmwlng Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denmark
    In the store I work at, this is now the sixth year of selling vinyl (it carried only CD's/tapes from early 90's through early 10's), new and used. Business keeps growing year after year after year... Last year we set the record, had not sold as much vinyl since the late 1980's... Everything comes and goes. I know that. But right now, I certainly cannot feel the boom to be over. We still get people of all ages either getting into or back into collecting vinyl, and more recently it's teenagers from smaller towns, not just major cities or suburbs. It has spread to be a nationwide thing here. Furthermore, physical music stores are sparse, even in larger cities. For example we carry the city's largest CD inventory. Music stores as a whole - depending on where you are, I guess - are more common than chain stores. Over the past four years, seven new shops have opened here, even if one or two went tits up quite quickly. But this was mainly due to shady management or just competition. There's only so much demand... But right now it's certainly going swimmingly.

    Interesting article though.
     
  3. Aftermath

    Aftermath Senior Member

    Thanks for your comment about my having better luck.

    Like yourself, I would like to see a statistical study concerning all of this. If you've experienced a consistent defect rate no matter where you order from, then that differs from my own experience.

    If you want to discuss the issue of delivery trucks and quality control further, feel free to PM me and I'll be happy to explain where I was coming from. We've gone a bit off the main thread topic.
     
    DeRosa likes this.
  4. Dillydipper

    Dillydipper Space-Age luddite

    Location:
    Central PA
    It's not that nobody but hipsters are embracing vinyl.

    It's that vinyl enthusiasts are realizing to their horror that they're becoming hipsters.
     
    andrewskyDE and Larry Loves LPs like this.
  5. bibijeebies

    bibijeebies vinyl hairline spotter

    Location:
    Amstelveen (NL)
    When you were there did you ask Rinus about the source used?
     
  6. ReadySteady

    ReadySteady Custom Title

    I remember going to Let it Be Records a LOT when I lived in Minneapolis in the mid-90's. Too bad they're not still around. I suppose Oar Folkjokeopus is gone as well.
     
  7. Johan1880

    Johan1880 Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Netherlands
    Yes, that's why I know about this particular title, the cd was actually laying there in front of us. MOV says it's always transparant about their sources, so I felt free to share this info here.

    Good point, I was under the impression the LC reissue program was a Sony project under the MOV umbrella, like Dylan, Hendrix, S&G instead of issuing these on the Legacy label.

    As far as I know they don't cut from analog tapes anymore in Haarlem. On of the last analogue titles was an early Fleetwood Mac album, IIRC. Maybe they still are able technically, but the AAA vinyl is such a niche market, it's not interesting commercially, I suppose. Which facility can still cut AAA from tape in Europe? Abbey Road Studios (Hi-q, Pure Pleasure?) And Emil Berliner for Speakers Corner?
     
    MisterBritt likes this.
  8. bibijeebies

    bibijeebies vinyl hairline spotter

    Location:
    Amstelveen (NL)
    Thanks.
    I still do not know the actual release you refer to though?
     
  9. Danby Delight

    Danby Delight Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    Oar is Treehouse Music now. Still good.
     
  10. NorthNY Mark

    NorthNY Mark Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canton, NY, USA
    Isn't the issue here less analogue versus digital, and more full-resolution digital tapes versus CDs? Obviously we would prefer full AAA recordings, and will normally be willing to pay a premium for that, but I think LPs produced from hi-res digital sources can sometimes sound quite good, and fairly close to analogue when done with care. LPs cut straight from the CD, though, not so much. There is no excuse to cut from CD, IMHO.
     
    Vinyl Dude and e.s. like this.
  11. Schoolmaster Bones

    Schoolmaster Bones Poe's Lawyer

    Location:
    ‎The Midwest
    It's neither, by my experience with new vinyl.
    Not me
    No thanks
    Of course they can.
    Why aim so low?
    Nonsense. If the source is good quality, the fact that it's 44.1/16 is irrelevant.
    No "excuse" is necessary.
     
    MichaelXX2, Dave, stetsonic and 2 others like this.
  12. Ham Sandwich

    Ham Sandwich Senior Member

    Location:
    Sherwood, OR, USA
    LPs made from digital sources should list the DAC in the mastering credits for the LP. Hope that the DAC used on the cutting lathe is a DAC that you like. Because that DAC is what you'll be listening to when you play the LP.
     
  13. fabgear63

    fabgear63 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Albany, NY USA
    I have bought a few new vinyl titles, and I am careful about analog vs digital, availability of an used alternative, whether a title was never released on vinyl etc
     
  14. Johan1880

    Johan1880 Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Netherlands
  15. MyNameIsNotSteve

    MyNameIsNotSteve Well-Known Member

    Location:
    USA
    Psssh....I'm buying vinyl in box sets and I don't even own a turntable yet. :D
     
  16. DeRosa

    DeRosa Vinyl Forever

    There really isn't any reason the European record pressing plants have to master in-house,
    they can easily use lacquers cut by other mastering engineers with an analog chain and cut from tape anywhere in the world.
    Speaker's Corner also use Kevin Gray of Cohearant in the USA quite often.

    That said, UK still has a few others besides Abby Road, including Alchemy Mastering in London (Barry Grint)
    Audio Archiving Company (Pashal Byrne) and Air Mastering (Ray Staff)

    Some titles pressed in Europe come from mastering and plating done at RTI in the USA.
     
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2017
    e.s. and NorthNY Mark like this.
  17. DRM

    DRM Forum Resident

    That about covers it.
     
    Schoolmaster Bones likes this.
  18. Luvtemps

    Luvtemps Forum Resident

    Location:
    P.G.County,Md.
    I'll be reading that article while I'm browsing through the dollar vinyl bin.
     
  19. Deaf_in_ LA_1974

    Deaf_in_ LA_1974 Forum Resident

    To be fair the WSJ probably understands statistics much better that digital news...
     
  20. Blue Gecko

    Blue Gecko Peace

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    I'm just saying pairing low quality with high prices is not a model for success. Regarding CDs, the quaility of a media which should remain constant almost forever is unfortunately negatively affected by the loudness wars. This effectively reduces quality. It's becoming rarer for me to pre-order any new CDs without knowing who mastered them, getting DR values, or checking somehow on the sound quality. With rereleases and limited editions, I've become very picky.
     
  21. Like the new Elton sound better than the original US version and close to the UKs. Cut from digital. Mastered well.
     
  22. fabgear63

    fabgear63 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Albany, NY USA
    I got Led Zeppelin III on reissue, and it's pretty good, even though it is digitally sourced. Less money than a good first press, and they did a nice job on the artwork.
    Other albums I picked up, simply because I want to support the artist, and their work never saw a vinyl release. Sam Phillips - Martinis and Bikinis; a terrific album, the packaging is beautifully rendered, but the sound is digitally sourced, and not that good unfortunately. But I have the original CD too.
    I have the Jayhawks - Hollywood Town Hall. QRP pressed, probably digitally sourced, but sounds terrific,better than the CD.
    I think that if you like vinyl, then if you do your homework, then you can do well for yourself. That's half the fun!
     
    e.s. and Mazzy like this.
  23. Dr. Funk

    Dr. Funk Vintage Dust

    Location:
    Fort Worth TX
    I agree with you about Led Zeppelin III. In fact, the whole 2014 & 2015 catalog sounds good on vinyl, with LZ IV being the weakest link.
     
    Vinyl Dude and Mazzy like this.
  24. NorthNY Mark

    NorthNY Mark Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canton, NY, USA
    Good point, but you could make the same argument with specific cutting lathes for all analogue LPs. I have no idea what different DACs sound like, though it would be interesting to have the information.
     
    Mazzy likes this.
  25. Ron Scubadiver

    Ron Scubadiver Forum Resident

    Location:
    Houston TX
    Just because you read it in a business publication, that doesn't make it true. Every day lots of garbage is published by journalists who really don't do their homework. If you like listening to LP's you may safely ignore the WSJ article and continue to love your LP's.
     
    Vinyl Dude and e.s. like this.
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