Can Vinyl Save The Music?

The other week I talked to my mailing list about whether or not I should still make CDs

 

I asked: Will the CD cease to be?

 

5 years ago I said NO.

 

I predicted that the CD would decline in sales (It has)

 

That digital downloads would increase (they have).

 

I predicted that in time the CD would become a botique item with special packaging and that it would be limited in number.

 

This is certainly evidence that this is starting to happen. A lot of major artists are co-releasing deluxe editions alongside a standard edition.

 

Sometimes it is the simple difference between a CD version and CD/DVD version as with Neil Young's Fork in the Road CD.

 

But some artists have released their new albums in everything from standard CD to huge specialty packages ranging from 100 to 300 dollars and very limited in number.

 

Now my prediction was that these limited edition packages would start becoming collectible. That they would go up in value and start selling for more than what was originally paid for them and that this collecitbility would fule more sales and more artists releasing limited edition versions.

 

Now only time will tell if this happens or not, but one thing I didn't see coming is the continual growth and re-emergence of Vinyl.

 

Vinyl sales are growing, the production of vinyl players is growing, Many top selling artists are releasing vinyl versions of their latest releases and, Best Buy (one of the last few major chains in the US still carrying a decent selection) is carrying vinyl now too.

 

So I started to wonder....Could Vinyl save the music industry?

 

Right now vinyl is expensive, because production is so limited. Only a huge re-surgence would bring the prices down.

 

But could vinyl gain a kind of mainstream hipness/coolness that would accomplish this?

 

Could people start to re-discover the warmth of analog sound? Could we re-disover the tactile experience of vinyl packaging?

 

And could it happen on a large mainstream scale?

 

Current vinyl releases are $19.99 a pop? But part of this is because it takes 2 discs to hold what one CD now holds.

 

Could a shorter and single vinyl release be sold for only $9.99 then?

 

I have always felt that too many CDs where too long on tracks and not long enough on quality. In other words, just because you have room for 18 tracks, doesn't mean you should have 18 tracks.

 

Back in the days of Vinyl, albums where shorter. I think this shorter format required a lot of fat trimming so that only the best tracks made it on the album. Today we live in a world of shorter attention spans and way more distractions. So maybe now more than ever, shorter albums are needed.

 

Most of the current vinyl releases offer a free mp3 version of the album, which is smart, and creates goodwill to the consumer since you can't play vinyl in your car. Personally I think it should come with the CD in a plain envelope. This way you have a permanent high quality wave file.

 

But iregardless of their being a CD or mp3 inlcuded. If you buy vinyl you are going to play it. And you can't play it in your car, so you are going to play it in your home.

 

I feel that a large part of society has forgotten how to listen (really listen) to music. Part of this has been the promotion of generic artists over artists of substance by the industry and our media.

 

But could vinyl make us start to listen (really listen) again?......You know what I mean?........Put the vinyl on the turntable, open up the lyrics booklet and start listening the album like you watch a movie.

 

All the record industry would need to do then is give customers music that is worth listening too and therefore worth buying.

Will The CD Be Dead?

Will the CD be dead?

 It looks that way now. But 5 years ago when this question was being asked, I said. The CD would probably decline in sales as people get more and more into downloading.

 That is happening now.

 But 5 years ago I also said that over time the CD could possibly be come a boutique item. Something designed for the hard core fan. It would be limited in its production (maybe even signed and numbered) and include special packaging, and that in time if enough artists did this, the CD could become a collectible that would create its own collectible market.

 This could create another group of consumers who would see the boutique CD as an investment item (something that might increase in value due to its limited run and scarcity).  

 This in turn would create more demand for product, which in turn could create a return of the CD as people would place more value on getting the physical product.

 You might even see people buying a copy of an indie artists limited run of 1,000 CDs as opposed to downloading it (legal or otherwise), Simply because in the back of their mind they are thinking "Hey you never what this might be worth 10 years from now, and I do want the music anyways".  

 Now whether or not this last part will play itself out is anyone's guess, Right now, we do see CDs from major labels where there is the standard and deluxe version (just like with DVDs). But they are hardly scarce. But a better example is Trent Reznor's recent "Ghosts Vol 1-1V release which came in all kinds of various editions including a limited $300. 00 deluxe edition that sold out. It is possible that in time there might be collectors willing to pay a lot more than $300.00 to get a copy of this version.

 I am not saying that this is what will happen, and I am not saying that I want to see CD's turned into a collectors market (there is downside to that that I wont get into here) but I think it's a possibility and that it could bring the CD back.....Of course it hasn't completely gone away yet, now has it?   :)