Vinyl Resurgence

Remember the days of being so excited that a new record was being released that you called your local record store and asked "When will you have it" all day, everyday until it arrived?   I think there is a strong possibility that we could see those days again soon!  I was walking through FRY's Electronics and stumbled upon an aisle with every kind of record player you can conceive.  The whole notion brought back a flood of memories to when I was kid and anxiously awaiting the arrival of the latest great record.  I was also surprised to stumble across a whole section of super high quality vinyl that had all of the classics and every digital re-mastered classic your heart desired.  The days of really experiencing music from that perspective are once again upon us.  Back when vinyl was popular, there were all sorts of technical issues as well as a problem with sourcing of material to create records.  The materials have changed, the plants are coming online and the market showing signs of promise again.   Bret is the resident expert on Vinyl and just about any music trivia about any artists he seems to know a great deal about.  If there was a music jeopardy, Bret would be the guy to hold the top spot on that show.  The good thing about the vinyl market is that its a tangible item that most people can get their minds around spending $10-$20 of their hard earned money on.  The reason they can justify that purchase over a digital download is simple... The joy it brings the receiver of the music record.  I remember asking for singles from my mom from the eagles for my birthday and being so excited to receive "Heart Ache Tonight" and I had to be the happiest kid on the planet and I burned the grooves off that single!   I still love to get vinyl if not for the art of the cover but to have it in my possession.  How Exciting!  To hold a piece of musical history, to have a genuine musical experience like we had as kids listening to records with our friends and family.  The vinyl experience was a "One of A Kind" and there is simply nothing like It.  I recall working for Tower Records Corporate Office on the Tower.com website and selling music like amazon during the dot com bomb.  The market was ready for something new and we delivered it but it also brought something unexpected which was the decline of the record.  When we started Tower.com, we had visions of "Being the best place on the internet to find and buy music" but when ended up happening is we ended up ushering in the digital age and the decline of vinyl.  I recall being in a meeting with Russ Solomon (Famed Owner of Tower Records) and him saying "This digital stuff is never going to replace the record" and it was thought that physical product was an essential requirement.  The digital age proved that there was also a market for download / ease of access and convenience factor that everyone wanted so they could get what they wanted, when they wanted.  I am still in favor of this medium as a was back then but now I have to say my perspective is a little more towards Russ's point of view.  Some would say that "Having" means the death of desire.  I think that suggests that there is a need for the good old days of anticipation.  When you truly "Could Not Wait" for the new record.  That brought about an excitement all its own when you saw the tower box show up at your door with your new music.  We had a slogan of "No Music, No Life" - and at the time it meant something.  I think the same could be said for a world without vinyl records.  "No Vinyl, No Music Experience!"
Either way, my excitement for music in the analog format has returned and the art of the cover once again has meaning.  The sounds of a warm analog delivery of the music from a record player with the authentic "Scratchiness" is something I never thought I would want, but I see now that I was completely and understandably mistaken about the market.  I think everyone wanted more choices but my sense is that buying vinyl on Amazon may represent a much larger part of the music sales in the coming years.  If given a choice, Bret and I would only sell vinyl of our records.  Who knows?  I suppose we will see how this goes when we deliver "Life Happens Here" on vinyl first and then 12 months later in digital format.   I suppose I will get to relive my childhood excitement when the factory delivers our copies of the new record on vinyl to our door.  I'm certain this is going to be cool!  Vinyl is my new/old passion for 2016 - My 2 Cents for Today... Jimmy