A vinyl record revival might be pushing CDs into the background.
In the past eight years, vinyl sales have increased drastically, outselling CDs by millions.
As a long time collector of all things physical media, I’ve noticed that vinyl gets more love than CDs with collectors. It has also become a hobby for the younger generation, with major stores like Walmart and Target selling records of popular artists and all-in-one turntables.
When I first started collecting, I would spend hundreds of dollars on records and never paid attention to CDs, thinking vinyl was the way to go when collecting music. I realized when I got to college that money was tight and if I wanted to still collect music, I’d have to start buying CDs.
Local music enthusiast David Brown, an employee at Landlocked Music in Bloomington, has been in the music selling business since college. Brown has seen vinyl have a resurgence in recent years but disagrees that it is taking over the market of physical music.
“Most of the vinyl sold today is pricey and some people are turned off by that,” Brown said. “CDs have become a lot cheaper in recent years, making it more appealing to buy a bundle of CDs for the price you would pay for one LP.”
When Brown was in college, he remembers the roles of vinyl and CD buying were reversed, when buying records was cheaper than buying a CD. Brown remembers used records costing around $5 and used CDs costing around $10.
“Records weren’t as popular 30 years ago and CDs were the way most people listened to music,” Brown said. “Buying a lot of records back then was cheaper than buying a couple CDs. Now it’s flip flopped.”
Brown urges people to browse the used record bins to find good records at a price that competes with buying a CD.
“There are still cheaper records out there to buy that are great,” Brown said. “If people think all records are expensive, then they will not even bother looking through the used stuff, where you can find LPs that are cheaper than CDs.”
CD buyers, like IU alumna Emily Grimaldi, enjoy the accessibility and the variety can come with searching for new or used CDs at places like Goodwill.
“You can shop online or go to any thrift store and find a ton of variety when searching for CDs,” Grimaldi said. “Records have become a lot more collectable, making it hard for the casual music consumer to get their favorite artist or album cheaper than you would on CD.”
Grimaldi believes the vinyl comeback is pure nostalgia and will fade into something else as years go by.
“We grew up with CDs in the 2000s,” Grimaldi said. “The appeal of vinyl to the younger generation is there with it being retro and something we aren’t used to. I feel CDs and cassette tapes are having a comeback and the market for vinyl is slowing down.”
Long time CD collector Scott Smith also enjoys his CD collection and continues to buy new CDs.
“I tried the iPod when that was new and then Pandora,” Smith said. “It wasn’t anything compared to putting a CD in my car. I grew up in the vinyl and cassette era. When CDs came around in the late 80s, it blew everyone’s mind and I was hooked.”
Local music artist Sheldon Paris has diminished his CD collection to start collecting vinyl, excited for the comeback.
“My CD collection has become smaller over the years,” Paris said. "It was mostly convenient to have them in your car, but since streaming services like Spotify are around, I didn’t really need them anymore.”
Music streaming services have experienced growth in the past two decades. Streaming became the highest revenue source for the music industry, reaching $19.3 billion globally.
Compared to streaming services, CDs sales have had a decline, dropping by 95% in the United States since 2000.
Paris used money from selling CDs to increase his vinyl collection.
“Vinyl means a lot more to me,” Paris said. “From being able to sample music to collecting, just to have the beautiful album covers to hold and feel, vinyl is much more than a hobby. It’s a personal experience.”
I think that vinyl is here to stay. It’s classic and now easily accessible. Maybe one day CDs will come back and steal the spotlight. But for now, records will remain on top for music collectors.
