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0 pointscpeterso4y ago0 comments

Vinyl record sales in 2020 surpassed CDs for the first time since the 1980s:

"Vinyl records accounted for $232.1 million of music sales in the first half of the year, compared to CDs, which brought in only $129.9 million. ... Since 2005, sales for vinyl have grown consecutively. In the first half of 2020, vinyl revenue was up 4%, while CD revenue was down 48%, according to the RIAA."

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/13/tech/vinyl-records-cd-sales-r...

0 comments

TheRealDunkirk4y ago

It seems like an opportunity for Apple to create a "vinyl filter" for Music, like a photo filter, to simulate the slight EQ profile and the physical scraping of playing a song on a turntable. I mean, if you really want it to sound worse, go ahead. It's no different than applying a "Polaroid" filter to a modern digital camera snapshot.

err4nt4y ago

I think that would be the worst of both worlds, the good part of digital media are no rewinding, in your pocket, on demand. And the benefit of physical are big artwork, tangible, one copy. It is not about the sound of vinyl, but having it in your hands.

Cthulhu_4y ago

For reference, that same article mentions that streaming is a $4.8 billion market, so about 20x the size of the vinyl industry.

srg04y ago

Sounds about right. Streaming is about being able to listen to anything you want. Vynil is about keeping what you like.

My Spotify history is full of songs and playlists which I don't even like, and I use it to explore other genres and artists. It's reasonable that only 5% of everyday people listen to is good enough to be acquired permanently.

oe4y ago

Sometimes it’s reversed. Spotify has less than 50% of the artists and albums I have on CDs and I have been tempted to buy missing songs on vinyl. Spotify’s playlists also rot, roughly 1% of songs disappear per year.

ghaff4y ago

I'm actually a bit surprised streaming is only 20x. But I guess even if vinyl is something of a niche, it's probably sort of a luxury enthusiast one.

danielrpa4y ago

Have in mind the vinyl market share isn't too far from the MacOS market share a couple of years ago. I see it as the premium niche, something we can't just ignore, especially if we consider the growth.

Juliate4y ago

From a purely financial point of view, if that's all that matter, yes, you may compare streaming/vinyl/CDs.

... those are _different_ markets:

- Streaming is about subscription to a right to listen to music passing by, attached to a specific set of account (with all the metrics that come with it).

- Vinyl is about physical analog copies that you can transmit to someone across space and time and that are barely trackable.

Edit: but indeed, huge markets crush small ones...

eloisant4y ago

I haven't bought a CD for many years, and I don't think I'm the only one.

I see the appeal of having a physical token that I can transmit to people, but it's not enough to make me buy CDs any longer.

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