Why the Vinyl Boom is Over - WSJ

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

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  1. eddiel

    eddiel Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    They were fads. At this point you can't really call Pokemon cards or Beanie Babies fads because they aren't popular enough. That part of their life cycle is long gone. I don't even think they make Beanie Babies anymore.
     
  2. dkmonroe

    dkmonroe A completely self-taught idiot

    Location:
    Atlanta
    They still make Beanie Babies by the ton. My 11 year old daughter collects them. The now- expired "fad" part of it is that they are no longer made in "limited commemorative editions" and pursued by collector adults for big bucks. They're just another stuffed animal brand now.

    LP's are just a slightly larger niche format than they were before. People want to label it a "fad" because they think that'll make it all disappear sooner. That's not how it works. Not sure why people want LP's to disappear anyway, it's just another choice, and if you don't want 'em, don't buy 'em.
     
  3. Stone Turntable

    Stone Turntable Independent Head

    Location:
    New Mexico USA
    Fads by definition have short lifespans and sharp upward and downward trend lines.

    The 21st century vinyl revival is steadier that a fad and bigger than a "niche," unless all you're interested in expressing is an irrational format animus.
     
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  4. Raunchnroll

    Raunchnroll Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    Other fads deserving of study: pizza, video games, se* enhancement products, pocket knives with 32 appendages & functions, Lucky Charms cereal.
     
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  5. Sick Sick Phil

    Sick Sick Phil Forum Resident

    Actually fads don't have to be short lived.

    However, the fact the Urban Outfitters stock records and the fact that a large number of new records are never even played point to a fad.
    My favorite thing is a young person playing a $40 record on a $60 turntable telling me how much better it sounds than a digital file. That is a fad.
     
  6. Stone Turntable

    Stone Turntable Independent Head

    Location:
    New Mexico USA
    This is straight-up anti-vinyl trolling, and abuse of the English language, for the sake of sheer perverse online argumentativeness.

    :tsk:

    Some definitions from various authorities:

    an intense and widely shared enthusiasm for something, especially one that is short-lived and without basis in the object's qualities; a craze

    The easiest way to categorize a fad is one word: short-lived.


    Fads are things or behaviors that have achieved short-lived popularity, but fade away. Fads are often seen as sudden, quick spreading, and short-lived.

    a thing that becomes very popular in a short amount of time, and then is forgotten at about the same speed.

    an intense but short-lived fashion

    something that is popular or fashionable for only a short time

    etc. etc.





     
  7. Danby Delight

    Danby Delight Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    You keep telling yourself that, punkin. I'll be over here buying new LPs (which don't cost $40) and playing them on the same kind of stereo I played them on decades ago, not giving a crap what anybody else is or is not doing with their records, because it doesn't matter to me what they do with their records. Weird that it seems to matter so very much to you.
     
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  8. Raunchnroll

    Raunchnroll Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    By mis-definition then, stereo qualifies as a fad. And stereos too.
     
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  9. Sick Sick Phil

    Sick Sick Phil Forum Resident

    Especially doesn't mean mandatory. :) etc etc etc
     
  10. Sick Sick Phil

    Sick Sick Phil Forum Resident

    It doesn't matter to me at all. Why does it bother you that the recent obsession with records in the past decade is a fad ?
     
  11. Sick Sick Phil

    Sick Sick Phil Forum Resident

    Video games like music is not a fad HOWEVER, collecting old Nintendo games is a fad. Etc...
     
  12. George Blair

    George Blair Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    I'll take the record fad over that other recent obsession with CD's in the past few decades.
     
  13. Gaslight

    Gaslight ⎧⚍⎫⚑

    Location:
    Northeast USA
    Urban Outfitters sells t-shirts.

    And a large number of new t-shirts are never worn so....a fad?
     
  14. Sick Sick Phil

    Sick Sick Phil Forum Resident

    Some t-shirts are a fad. Do you think missy elliott and hilary duff owning a motorhead t-shirt means they like the band ?
     
  15. Gaslight

    Gaslight ⎧⚍⎫⚑

    Location:
    Northeast USA
    But they wore them.

    Also, does that mean that some album releases are a fad, and some are not? What does Hillary Duff listen to on her Crosley?
     
  16. Raunchnroll

    Raunchnroll Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    There was a fad going around that the earth was spherical. Or is the fad that the earth is flat? Whew! its hard to keep tracks of these things. What we need is someone not limited by the commonly accepted definition of a fad.
     
  17. jazon

    jazon A fight between the blue you once knew

    Location:
    ottawa
    I spent some time at a local music shop while waiting for my winter tires to be put on. They have a pretty large vinyl section and have it right at the front of the store. A huge used vinyl section too. Lots of people there..90% looking at vinyl. Though their prices can't compete with amazon and the used stuff is priced higher than you'd find it on ebay they still seem to be doing well. You won't find a "deal" there though as they know when something has value which is unfortunate for people like myself.
     
  18. Sick Sick Phil

    Sick Sick Phil Forum Resident

    Well the thing is never really the fad. The fad is the popularity over the item.
     
  19. Sick Sick Phil

    Sick Sick Phil Forum Resident

    Yeah we don't need people to use commonly accepted definition of words.
     
  20. Gaslight

    Gaslight ⎧⚍⎫⚑

    Location:
    Northeast USA
    So the thing itself isn't the fad, the popularity of the thing is the fad. OK, I'm with you so far.

    So when UA stops selling vinyl (or t-shirts, since we've already established that those are in-scope for the definition now) does that mean they are no longer a fad?
     
  21. Raunchnroll

    Raunchnroll Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    Well you have described a good old fashioned subplexis fad. Where the demand for goods - no longer available - causes the fad itself to temporarily collapse -- the impact of which creates a negative/positive interaction which can generate something larger than a fad.

    Sort of like when records got sent to the cut out bin too soon - inadvertently creating a higher demand for the item. The original fad is forced into a premature collapse but re-emerges as a 'movement' which eclipses the original faddish-ness.

    Another analogy to this is the near disappearance of the vinyl (fad) and its re-appearance (movement). The vinyl movement helps support hipster and dad rock culture. Culture is not a fad of course. Its part of the cosmology of existence and meaning itself. When I look at a good quality reissue I perceive the alpha and the omega.
     
  22. Danby Delight

    Danby Delight Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    You need to read better, punkin. I'm buying and listening to LPs just like I've been doing since 1974. You need to explain to me why it matters to me that you think LPs are a "fad," since that does nothing to change a lifetime of listening habits for me. I'd truly love to see you try, because it'll be hilarious.
     
  23. Nightswimmer

    Nightswimmer Forum Resident

    Location:
    Germany
    Here is the big, gigantic difference between collecting Beanie Babies and baseball cards and stamps and music.

    With music it actually does not matter if what you have is worth something or not. I can play my old CD-copy of Automatic For The People which is worth nothing and still love every second of it, because I have played it a thousand times (at least). It is worth much less than what I bought it for, but I do not regret it at all.

    Of course it is nice, when a record or a CD is valuable, especially when you sell it. But let's say the market for vinyl totally collapses: I still have all this great music that I can enjoy.

    Oh wait, it actually happened to my rock and pop CDs from the 90s. They are worthless for the most part. Did I throw them away? Of course not!
     
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  24. Eigenvector

    Eigenvector Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southeast PA
    I'll consider the vinyl "fad" over when pressing plants start closing down again due to lack of business.
     
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  25. EdogawaRampo

    EdogawaRampo Senior Member

    Wow! My new favourite phrase! You bet I'll be using it as soon as the opportunity arises: "irrational format animus". I can think of someone right of the bat who posts continuously who shows IFA in almost every post.

    Irrational Format Animus -- thanks!

    Let's see how to fit it into logical phrasing: "suffering from ...", "guilty of ...", "exhibiting symptoms of ...", "...prompted by ...", "engaging in ...", "motivated by ..."

    That's a start. What else?
     
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