Although streaming services have dominated the music industry in the past decade for their convenience, the resurgence of vinyl has become unavoidable in recent years. Also known as LPs, or “long play” records, vinyls are an analog sound storage medium that are commonly played on record players. Often the length of a studio album, the popularization of vinyl has caused experts to coin the current uproar the “vinyl revival.”
Whereas the incentives for buying vinyl differ from person to person, senior Pablo Samano believes the process of taking care of a vinyl record and discovering a different listening experience as opposed to streaming can be fulfilling.
“Sometimes it’s therapeutic because I buy a record, I clean it, I sleeve it, I make sure it’ll last me years,” Samano said. “It’s just such a nice experience being able to listen to music in a slightly different way.”
Senior Precious Montalban does not have a vinyl collection of her own but has noticed an increase in vinyl popularity among her peers. She believes people are attracted to vinyl for their vintage appearance and associations with the past.
“I’ve seen vinyl getting pretty popular. My friends all have vinyl records. I wish I had one, but I don’t have any space for a vinyl collection,” Montalban said. “I guess it’s about the nostalgic feeling of having a vinyl record. I think that people go for aesthetics.”
While vinyl has existed for decades, English teacher Daniel Eaton believes the vinyl revival has encouraged the newer generations to express their passion for music beyond their phones. He thinks the process of buying an individual’s favorite albums and showcasing them together can be a gratifying experience.
“In the last five years or so, I’ve been excited to see a lot more younger people getting into collecting. It has become an age-inclusive activity to bridge generations with an appreciation of music,” Eaton said.
Eaton believes that in modern society, people’s increased screen time on social media impacts their interactions with the world around them, leaving individuals to desire physical media again. He believes music fans have begun to desire physical music and form an emotional connection with it more than ever.
“That increased digital time you’re spending staring at a screen produces a desire for something other than what’s in your hand on the screen,” Eaton said. “Vinyl takes you off your screen and brings you into the present moment in a way that you can’t necessarily get with streaming.”
While Samano enjoys listening to vinyl, he admitted to using Spotify, his preferred streaming service, more often due to convenience. Since vinyls are easily portable, he finds digital music listening convenient to use and more immersive than vinyl.
“Honestly, I think streaming services are way better. My phone and my headphones are very easy to take anywhere, but I can’t just take a vinyl player everywhere.” Samano said.
While Eaton also enjoys vinyl, he noted that the listening experience is not universal from one person to another. Some listeners might purchase a record player of poor quality and be disappointed by the soundFurthermore, if the vinyl is not taken care of, it could wear out quicker.
“Physical media does wear out, so the more you play your records, the more that sound quality starts to degrade,” Eaton said. “If you don’t have the proper equipment, you may have a negative listening experience because not all record players are created equal, and it may not sound as good as you want it to.”
Samano does not believe vinyl will die out, rather their popularity will fluctuate as any trend does. He thinks the nostalgic authenticity of vinyl cannot be replicated, and people will always want to physically own their favorite music.
“It won’t die out completely. We’re going to see this resurgence reach its peak and then it will probably start to die off a little bit, but I don’t think it’ll ever go away,” Samano said.