Such a classic - from Not The Nine O'Clock News. But no doubt much the same happens with every new technological generation.
Sales of vinyl albums overtake CDs for the first time since the late ’80s
Streaming still accounts for 84% of music revenue, but vinyl is having a moment.
arstechnica.com
Sales of vinyl records have been on the rise for years, but according to the RIAA's 2022 year-end revenue report for the music industry (PDF), record sales hit a new high last year. For the first time since 1987, unit sales of vinyl albums outpaced those of CDs, vindicating all the people who have spent decades of their lives talking about how vinyl "just sounds better."
I doubt that is why they buy them (given they will likely require all the rest of the rather expensive equipment to get the best out of any vinyl) - but I suppose with Audacity-like filters the extraneous sounds can be filtered out now - but the wear cannot - so just don't ever play them.
There have always been people who have asserted that music played on vinyl sounds better than digital music, but that probably doesn't explain vinyl's increasing popularity this long after the advent of CDs, MP3s, and streaming music. A vinyl album is large enough to double as an art piece, and there's something appealing about the tactility of physical objects in an age where media is increasingly ephemeral.
That is more likely the reason for a return in popularity, and as commented, the artists are likely to get more of the money than by any other means.
I still hate vinyl but I can see why it might be popular - and perhaps I'm just jealous that I can't play any of mine any more.
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