Jun 15, 2009 7:26 pm US/Eastern
Vinyl Records Making Comeback In Digital Age
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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Vinyl records appear to be making a comeback as sales have doubled since 2006.
Bruno Vincent/Getty Images
The music scene today, with iPods and MP3 players, seems to be dominated by digital. However vinyl records, an old standby, are making a comeback.
While the iPod and digital downloads are hurting the sales of CDs, vinyl records are now bucking that trend. Last year, about 1.9 million records were sold. That's the highest number since 1991 and sales have doubled since 2006.
'IT'S THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE'
"[Records are] just really cool, and pulling that record out of the sleeve and putting that needle in the groove. It's just the whole experience of it, and looking at the art work," said Sophie Treon of Newbury Comics.
It turns out that it's not just rock 'n' roll relics who want to own a physical item, instead of a digital download.
"It's all ages that I see shopping. I mean, 10-year-olds, teenagers, kids in college; it can be anybody," Treon said.
QUALITY OF SOUND
Treon believes another reason for the renewed popularity of records is the quality of the sound.
"To me, that is the way that music should sound. It's just a little more raw," Treon said.
With a record, a listener gets the whole spectrum of sound waves. When that audio is digitally compressed, a portion of the sound is lost at the top and the bottom of the bandwidth. Treon said records end up providing a thicker, richer sound.
SATISFYING THE SHOPPER
Record companies are now coming up with ways to satisfy all types of shoppers. For example, some records now come with a coupon for a free digital download which allows the consumer to get both versions for one price.
Since those records need to be played on a turntable, it's not surprising that their sales are soaring too. In fact, turntable sales have doubled since 2006.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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