The Rise

In 1857, a French bookseller by the name of Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville invented and patented a device that could transcribe incoming sound waves into a glass sheet. Twenty years later, Thomas Edison replaced the glass with a sheet of tinfoil, which, after the transcription, could be wrapped around a cylinder and slowly rotated under a stylus to reproduce the sound. In another ten years, Emil Berliner transcribed sound into a spiral on a disk rather than a helix on a sheet and created a negative from the disc, from which he could mold new wax discs instead of needing to transcribe the sound again each time. These early “records” were spun at 78 rpm and could hold 3-5 minutes of sound per side.

In 1930, RCA Victor began producing records created from polyvinyl chloride. They were 12” in diameter, made to spin at 33⅓ rpm, and a comercial failure. It was the beginning of the Great Depression, and the infrastructure required to play these new discs was inaccessible to most. After World War II, Columbia Records reignited the idea anddeveloped the first affordable consumer vinyl record player; thus, in 1948, the vinyl surge began. By the late 50’s, the production of 78s had ended all together, as the longer runtime and lower noise profile of vinyl records compelled new buyers to invest in new vinyl record players. New competition questioned the reign of 12” records, or “LPs,” not in new material or format, but in size, with 7” records designed for 45 rpm, or “EPs.” EPs had a runtime similar to that of 78s and eventually found a niche in holding singles, typically in a 2-track format with one song per side, while the 30-minute per side runtime of LPs were more convenient for full albums. The production of record players themselves cemented this coexistence with multi-speed players, allowing consumers to play LPs and EPs on the same system. Throughout the 60’s and 70’s, vinyl record sales soared and showed no signs of slowing down.

The Fall

In 1964, Dutch engineer Lou Ottens developed the first cassette player, and while the audio quality suffered greatly from that of the record, the size, cost, and portability of the cassette began to grant it popularity in the mid-70s. It held a small and steadily growing market share until the Sony Walkman was released in 1979. Cassette player sales grew exponentially and had surpassed record sales by 1984, however, in that exact year, a new audio format began to sneak into the field: Compact Discs.

Originally developed two years earlier, CDs truly were a revolutionary audio format. Although they were digital and could not produce the perfectly smooth analog curves of records, the standard of 44.1kHz, or 44,100 audio samplings per second, was more than enough to suffice so as to make the difference imperceptible while also allowing for a wider range of volume, much deeper bass, a significantly longer lifespan, increased durability and portability, easier and more compact storage options, and a lower cost for both CDs and CD players. With the advent of automobile CD players on top of all of this, CDs were set to explode.

Just as cassettes were phasing out records, CDs were phasing out cassettes. By 1991, they held a majority of the market share, and by their peak popularity at the turn of the millennium, CDs accounted for over 93% of all music sales. Cassette tapes had killed the record player, and CDs had buried it.

The Rennaisance

The spark that lit the fire behind the recent exponential climb of vinyl record sales has been theorized by dozens of news outlets and media publications, all trying to give proper verbiage to the same explanation: they’re fun. In a modern utilitarian world, records have no place. Audiophile blogs will discuss the “warmth” and fullness of vinyl that no digital format can reproduce; however, this is most likely a byproduct of the specific EQ that the motion of the stylus produces and is in no way unique to vinyl or to analog audio in general. In terms of sound quality, the CD is the objective winner, and in terms of accessibility and ease of use, digital downloads fossilize records. The current popularity of records is an entirely sociocultural phenomenon: they are more effective as displayable artwork than CDs, provide a more intimate experience with the music being played than digital downloads, and for as technologically rudimentary as they may be in comparison to digital audio formats, there is something inherently fascinating about a diamond tip running along microscopic grooves on a plastic disc to perfectly reproduce hours of music at a time.

The drastic increase in record sales began in 2007 and has grown from 2 million units sold per year to over 49 million in 2023. Kickstarted through the reselling of old presses from the golden age of vinyl, independent artists and production studios began pressing new albums and singles to profit from the new market, with Sony resuming vinyl pressing operations in 2018 after closing all record production in 1989. In 2022, records surpassed CDs in music sales for the first time since 1987 and only seem to be increasing in market share, although both still control a relatively minuscule portion of the music industry in comparison to online streaming services.

Where the Fun Ends

Vinyl records are an objectively expensive audio format. The upfront cost of purchasing a record player can range anywhere from $50 to upwards of $10,000 on the extreme high end, and records themself, as with any collectible, have a theoretically infinite price range, with the average new pressing costing around $25-40, and the average resale costing around $5-30. Building a comprehensive record collection can easily cost thousands of dollars, and with the rapid growth of such an industry, especially when the popularity of these expensive collectibles is determined by culture instead of utility, it is no wonder that corporations are exploiting them for profit. 

Taylor Swift has been at the forefront of the vinyl resurgence, selling 3.5 million LPs in 2023 alone, a staggering 7% of the entire record market share. Aside from her cultural omnipresence, Swift has managed such a dominant hold on record sales through her “gamification” of the record-collecting experience. 2022’s Midnights featured six different $30 collectible records, each the same album in a different color, with an additional incentive of 4 versions combining, in combination with a $49 display case, to create a clock, with the numbers being displayed across the different record sleeve designs. In addition to a standard black record, 1989 has been released in 6 different pastel colors. However, the most egregious case has been with The Tortoured Poets Department. A large aspect of the profitability of vinyl is in the idea of exclusivity. Vinyls are pressed in set amounts, and later, additional pressings are often never completed, even when products sell out. When Taylor Swift releases a new album on vinyl, it sells out incredibly quickly. Taylor Swift and her record label, Republic Records, know this. Initially, one record was released on her official online store. Not for immediate purchase, but for preorder. The preorder sold out immediately. A week later, she released a deluxe version with one additional song. It sold out immediately but, importantly, was purchased largely by fans who had already purchased the original record. A week later, another deluxe with another new song. A week later, another one. These are not announced beforehand. There was no way for these fans to know that if they missed any given drop, there would be another one just one week away. The FOMO of her impressionable fanbase was manipulated to produce repeat buyers - individuals spending hundreds of dollars to have multiple copies of the same album in the same format.

Taylor Swift is by absolutely no means unique in this level of consumer manipulation. The vast majority of new vinyl sales come as a byproduct of deluxe editions, limited-time releases, multiple record variants, and generally aggressive marketing tactics, weaponizing the surge in popularity of this outdated audio medium to maximize profits off of impressionable audiences.

It is easy to place the blame for the prevalence of this issue on the consumer, on the impressionable and misguided fan spending hundreds of dollars of their or their parents’ money on products they simply have no need or use for. It is easy to criticize them for being irrational and irresponsible, can’t fault the artist if enough people are dumb enough to keep buying, right? It is no new observation that consumers are, in general, uninformed and unreasonable. The specific targeting of uninformed consumers by corporations has been observed and studied for decades, and vinyl records are just one new form of many. Consumers are not the enemy but the victim of a ruthless system designed not to improve their lives, not to offer them what they need, but to make money at their expense.

Purchase vinyl, grow your collection, and upgrade your equipment, but understand the system at play and venture responsibly. Support the local vinyl shops near you instead of buying three copies of the next Taylor Swift album at Walmart. Vinyl records are a fascinating corner of modern counterculture and can be an outlet for self-expression and enjoyment through great music and art, but be careful for the sake of your wallet and for the sake of the world.

Written by Nathan Brooks, Photography: Kaleigh Mazy, Social Media: Divya Nair