Peter Jasko sifts through a crate of records inside of Stony Brook University’s tight-spaced vinyl library. A dusty record player in the corner of the room begins to spin a disc that is colored with a hallucinogenic blend of yellow, green and purple.
An occasional scratch occasionally interrupts the smooth flow of cosmic sound emanating from the record’s grooves, but Jasko–a 20-year-old vinyl collector–does not mind because he did not buy the record for its audio quality. He was simply fascinated by the idea of being able to hold his music.
“Most people my age who are buying records aren’t concerned about the sound quality they’re getting,” Jasko said. “They keep buying records because there’s just something romantic about having a physical copy of music and then watching it play at the drop of a needle.”
Today, many bands are trying to press vinyl records for a growing market, but there are approximately 20 operating pressing plants in the United States, Noisey reports. Most prefer working with bigger record labels that can afford ordering records in bulk rather than smaller independent labels or artists because it is better business, Mike Park, owner of Asian Man Records, said.
The resurgence of vinyl culture among younger people, like Jasko, was a surprise to many in the music industry. As CDs began replacing vinyl, analog infrastructure was dismantled. This left the pressing plants and other aspects of vinyl production saturated with a staggering amount of work, Alex Abrash, an audio engineer who has been in the music industry for over 15 years, said.
Today, many bands are trying to press vinyl records for a growing market, but there are approximately 20 operating pressing plants in the United States, Noisey reports. Most prefer working with bigger record labels that can afford ordering records in bulk rather than smaller independent labels or artists because it is better business, Mike Park, owner of Asian Man Records, said.
“Even if a plant says there’s no favorites, I call bullshit,” said Park. “There’s no way they’re gonna give us even treatment for a 500 piece order versus a 100,000 piece Justin Bieber order.”
Increase in vinyl sales is not enough to convince those in the music industry to invest in new analog equipment, Abrash said.
“Nobody is going to make these machines again because the format still only accounts for a small percent of music sales overall,” Abrash said. “So now these small labels are in trouble because there is so much demand but the structure of the record business can’t handle it.”
According to the Nielsen SoundScan, 9.2 million vinyl records were sold in 2014, up 52 percent from 2013. That same year, 18 to 24-year-olds bought 5 percent more vinyl than customers who fell in the age range of 25-34 and 9 percent more than 35 to 44-year-olds, MusicNews reported.
The increase of vinyl being produced by large record labels for mainstream pop artists is one of the factors that has led to an increase in sales among young people, Joseph Ostermeier, owner of Infinity Records in Massapequa, Long Island said. This younger generation picks up the slack for an older age group that has shifted toward more expensive collections.
“Some of the older people who got married collect cars now or real estate,” Ostermeier said. “They don’t need as much vinyl anymore, but the younger people are picking the new One Direction or Adele [records] so they have something to play on their new record players from Best Buy.”
Digital music on CDs and online streaming of music have less distortion, are more convenient to play and require less maintenance than vinyl records, Andrew Nittoli, an audio engineer for the Stony Brook University music department, said. However, digital music lacks the engaging experience of touching what you want to hear, and this is another factor bolstering the sale of vinyl.
“I mean look at your laptop. It’s a keyboard and a flat surface. There’s nothing really interesting to it,” said Nittoli. “Where as with analog music you have knobs, dials and mechanicals things to look at, think about, and wonder what they do. It’s easier for someone to identify with it.”
Ordering vinyl records for a growing fan base is expensive and a risk for small bands with no means of promoting their music, Jon Gusman, drummer for the Long Island band Soda Bomb, said.
“A lot of bands take huge losses pressing vinyl because they do it before anyone gives a shit about anything they’re doing,” Gusman said. “Vinyl is the most expensive physical release a band can put out, but on the other hand if someone does pick your record up it means you’re worth that coughing up a few extra bucks.”
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