The vinyl: The analogue medium in the age of digital reproduction

Abstract

Recent discussions of music listening practices have given priority to the digitalisation of sound and the role of digital music players in changing the form, medium and possibly even the content of listening. While such an emphasis is warranted given the rapid uptake of digital music consumption, it is also the case that vinyl records are currently the fastest growing area of music sales. Moreover, within particular music listening circles, the vinyl record is approached as an auratic object. In this paper, we explore the vinyl's persistence on the market and its rekindled cultural prominence. Using the frameworks of cultural sociology, combined with insights from material culture studies and cultural approaches to consumption within business studies and sociology, we explore the reasons why vinyl records have once again become highly valued objects of cultural consumption. Resisting explanations which focus solely on matters of nostalgia or fetish, we look to the concepts of iconicity, ritual, aura and the sensibility of coolness to explain the paradoxical resurgence of vinyl at the time of the digital revolution.

Conceptualizing curation in the age of abundance: The case of recorded music

“…The interviews generated detailed data and allowed respondents to express experiences and opinions in their own words. Yet, because curatorial processes are tactile, aesthetic and experiential in nature and cannot be fully understood through mere description (Bartmanski and Woodward, 2015), we supplemented and triangulated our interview data with observation. We spent time in physical spaces, including record shops, observing, taking photos • Why do actors perform curation?…”

“…Indeed, while selling vinyl may be a smart commercial strategy, it also helps to 'preserve' and promote a traditional or ritualized way of listening to music associated with materiality, symbolic value and intangible experiences (Bartmanski and Woodward, 2015;Sonnichsen, 2017).…”

“…The concept has extended to other fields such as fashion (Leslie et al, 2015), food (Concha, 2017;Joosse and Hracs, 2015), craft (Shultz, 2015) and music (Bartmanski and Woodward, 2015;Hendricks, 2015;Hracs and Jansson, 2017). More broadly, curation has been connected to existing literature on brands and branding (Dommer et al, 2013;Lury, 2004;Pike, 2011).…”

‘Vinyl never say die’: The re-incarnation, adoption and diffusion of retro-technologies

“…In recent times, our understanding of the music enthusiasts' return to vinyl has therefore been extended as a result of some interesting lines of inquiry analysing the larger social, historical, and intellectual context within which vinyl has emerged as a preferred music format [6][7][8][9]. Among the plethora of factors cited as driving vinyl's renewed appeal and boom in vinyl sales include consumers demand for good-quality sound [6], its physicality, tactile and aesthetic appeal [10], and old-fashion consumerism [8,11].…”

“…Among the plethora of factors cited as driving vinyl's renewed appeal and boom in vinyl sales include consumers demand for good-quality sound [6], its physicality, tactile and aesthetic appeal [10], and old-fashion consumerism [8,11]. However, there is no evidence to suggest that vinyl is en-route to capture a significant share of the global music sales market anytime soon [1,2].…”