a decade into record store day a new world of vinyl
Last Updated : GMT 09:07:40
Egypt Today, egypt today
Egypt Today, egypt today
Last Updated : GMT 09:07:40
Egypt Today, egypt today

A decade into Record Store Day, a new world of vinyl

Egypt Today, egypt today

Egypt Today, egypt today A decade into Record Store Day, a new world of vinyl

Ma Nerriza dela Cerna of Erika Records displays a full color "Beauty and the Beast" record
New York - AFP

Ten years ago, most vinyl records sold for a few dollars -- dusty old albums with dog-eared covers that had been thrown out as useless relics of an earlier age.

However, faced with twin onslaughts from digital music and big-box stores, independent record stores in the United States banded together in 2007 to create an annual day of special sales -- and much to their surprise, vinyl has been king.

Metallica played the first Record Store Day at a branch of Rasputin Music in the San Francisco area. While the metal legends' presence ensured a crowd, all 10,000 vinyl reissues at the store sold out that day.

"That made me realize we were onto something. We tapped into something that nobody could have imagined," Record Store Day co-founder Michael Kurtz said.

Kurtz quickly expanded Record Store Day to continental Europe and Britain, where the first British edition was championed by Billy Bragg, the folk rocker known for his left-wing activism.

The 10th annual event takes place Saturday at thousands of stores around the world -- due to the deliberately loose structure, Kurtz does not have an exact figure -- with some 350 special vinyl pressings in the US market released on the day.

Since the first Record Store Day, vinyl has soared to levels not seen since the 1980s. It has been a rare source of growth in the long-beleaguered music industry alongside -- although at a much smaller scale than -- streaming.

Vinyl revenue will top $1 billion this year while sales of CDs and digital downloads tumble, the analytical firm Deloitte estimates.

In Britain, where vinyl's rebirth has been particularly pronounced, records generated more revenue than advertising-backed tiers of streaming platforms last year.

- Owning a format -

Vinyl enthusiasts such as Elton John, who has done promotions for Record Store Day, insist the medium offers a superior listening experience. But there are also broader cultural forces at play.

"For the older music fan, people in my age group, it was a romantic thing that you can go back and buy all your favorite records again and buy special versions of those albums," he said."It was a perfect storm," said Kurtz, 59, sipping coffee near his home in Harlem as he wore a T-shirt of punk icon Iggy Pop -- among the musicians with special Record Store Day releases.

"On the younger side of things, it enabled a whole new generation to own it. I think it was a response to digital in a way."

In a sun-kissed industrial plaza in Orange County, California, Erika Records never stopped making vinyl. But production has ramped up eight times in the past decade. The plant now produces 20,000 records a day.

"The vinyl resurgence has been very good to us," project manager Ma Nerriza dela Cerna said next to the plant, where records by artists from Lady Gaga to Bob Marley are manufactured from start to finish.

Part of vinyl's draw is the unique touches it provides for fans. Erika Records, the sole US plant to make color and picture records, works with artists to create original designs -- although it drew the line when one band proposed infusing its members' blood into the vinyl.

- Will boom last? -

"A lot of people say that the vinyl industry will eventually slow down," dela Cerna said. "I personally don't think that only because I feel like we're introducing vinyl to a new audience every day." 

Record Store Day and Erika Records both have their roots in working with independent labels, although major conglomerates have since joined the event.

Unlike some indie purists, Kurtz rejoices in major labels' participation as a signal of vinyl's success. But he also worries that the same trends that battered independent stores a decade ago are coming back, with some labels bypassing them to sell directly to consumers.

Vinyl's growth has also been inconsistent. A major format for indie and classic rock and jazz, it has had much less impact in hip-hop, where top artists often find it more lucrative to sign streaming deals.

While vinyl makes up an ever-greater part of the market, the rate of growth in the United States slowed to four percent in 2016.

Kurtz isn't worried. Record store owners are enjoying themselves, he said, and the expansion was expected to plateau.

"Music has always had a core 10-15 percent of the population that buys the full vision of the artist, whether it's on CD or vinyl. And right now it's pretty close to that."

Source: AFP

egypttoday
egypttoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

a decade into record store day a new world of vinyl a decade into record store day a new world of vinyl



GMT 20:21 2016 Friday ,19 August

Court halts metro work near Lahore monuments

GMT 10:26 2013 Thursday ,09 May

Pakistan gunmen kidnap ex-PM Gilani\'s son

GMT 07:48 2017 Sunday ,31 December

Egypt's Morsi sentenced to three years in prison

GMT 06:27 2014 Wednesday ,01 October

Obama not ask Sisi to release foreign journalists

GMT 18:16 2017 Monday ,04 December

Senior UN official to make rare visit to North Korea

GMT 16:20 2018 Wednesday ,10 October

Palestinian champions ‘drift’ racing for women

GMT 07:56 2015 Friday ,01 May

Katy Perry risks China Firework

GMT 17:38 2011 Tuesday ,09 August

Greipel wins first stage of Eneco Tour

GMT 11:51 2014 Thursday ,04 September

Iraqi air force kills ISIL leader in Salahuddin

GMT 15:23 2018 Monday ,10 September

Expo 2020 House of Volunteers unveiled

GMT 03:34 2017 Thursday ,19 January

South Sudan VP starts first Khartoum visit

GMT 15:58 2013 Thursday ,02 May

German TV pulls crime show after SS scandal

GMT 23:05 2017 Wednesday ,04 January

Trump casts new doubt on Russia hacking allegations

GMT 21:03 2016 Sunday ,24 January

Misr el-Makasa defeat Haras el-Hodood 1:0

GMT 23:26 2015 Friday ,01 May

US TV to remake 1970s slavery classic 'Roots'

GMT 10:55 2017 Monday ,30 January

Somaia al Khashab denies bad health rumors

GMT 05:06 2017 Sunday ,16 April

Wal-Mart in advanced talks to buy Bonobos
 
 Egypt Today Facebook,egypt today facebook  Egypt Today Twitter,egypt today twitter Egypt Today Rss,egypt today rss  Egypt Today Youtube,egypt today youtube  Egypt Today Youtube,egypt today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday
egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday
egypttoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
egypttoday, Egypttoday, Egypttoday