The comeback of vinyl and consumer culture
Before I go into the audio software I had to learn in order to finish the second part of my Uni project, I decided to dedicate one more post to sound and how we consume it these days. In the way digital media technologies have become such an essential part of our lives, one might think analog tech is so not relevant that it is already something clearly in the past. And yet one piece of analog tech made the strongest comeback in the last few years, with sales in 2018 marking a 30-year high! All hail the mighty vinyl and how it once again became important. First of all, I want to touch a subject that vinyl collectors, like me, try to stay away from - sustainability. Let’s face it. There is nothing like the feeling of impatiently waiting for your new vinyl to arrive (in the pandemic reality, at least) or when you browse through the stacks in records shops. It is really easy to become an addiction and, for me at least it resulted in endless nights, when I finally have time for myself, browsing Discogs, eBay and independent record shops’ websites to locate the latest releases, rare editions, test pressings and signed copies. I need to simply look at the estimated value of my collection neatly catalogued at Discogs to solve the mystery of our money vanishing. Yes, it is not cheap to sustain such obsession and it is not like buying a pack of chewing gum every other day, so I try not to get carried away. Yet, I am a reasonable enough person to comprehend that just because I don’t sleep in front of stores on Black Friday or buy obscene amounts of cheap clothing, sustaining some illusion of being well off, I am part of the consumer culture just as much. The constant aim to have more, to buy more and to sit on piles of things you don’t really need is not a stranger to me. It is something I have been working on personally and in terms of stuff we acquire as a family for a long time, and while we are definitely leading quite sustainable life (we did zero waste month during the first lockdown with me trying composting for the first time), we are still not where I would like for us to be. But records are different, I convince myself. They have not only monetary but cultural value. They will not hit the bin after a few clashes with the washing machine. They support artists, labels and contribute for the development of venues and the scene as a whole. However, do I listen to them as much as I can? The short answer is no. Some haven’t been taken out of their sleeves like …well, never. I love the feeling of having them for various reasons, but most come with digital download anyway, so we quite often play them that way instead of the actual record. The materials, the production, the packaging and the delivery of a single record have huge environmental impact. Production is not an eco-friendly process, recycling is quite difficult, packaging is extreme sometimes, especially when it comes to shipping and, as if enough emission were not released already, the delivery itself adds on top of that. As consumers though we have been growing more and more conscious and this is where the process of changing all this starts (as opposed to the other way around when we are the final recipient of the product in the form of a shiny new record with crazy design and artsy cover). When consumers demand it, the sellers usually listen, if they want to sustain the same level of profitability for their products. With plenty of artists getting behind the idea it seems that things are about to change, and I can stop torturing myself how much damage I have done ordering my next record. There are some companies and projects that are making waves and I honestly want to believe that this is the future of records, that I will be part of. While these are definitely my favourites, there are plenty of others that are trying to make the whole process eco-friendlier and more sustainable in the long run of things. We might not be there yet, but things are looking definitely better than they were 5 years ago.
Green Vinyl Records - a collaboration between 8 Dutch companies aiming for an alternative production process. Faster manufacturing process, less health impact when recycling and 60% energy savings overall. More about them available here:
Deepgrooves - a vinyl pressing plant of new generation. They praise themselves to be the greenest vinyl pressing plant on the planet, while not compromising with the quality and the sound of their products. More about them you can read here:
Viryl Technologies - founded in 2015 by people from the industry, the company specialises in manufacturing and servicing fully and semi-automatic vinyl presses, while providing consultations for start-ups and existing plants trying to go green. More info on them here:
Now, on the records themselves. In a world where all and every digital tech rules it was somewhat of a surprise that the vinyl once again emerged as something people want to buy. For me it all started with the feeling that the sound of digital downloads is getting worse and worse and the fact that streaming platforms are taking much of the profits every time I hit ‘play’. I am also old enough to have owned a records player as a child and remember the feeling of actually making the effort to listen to music. When I was young my parents used to play for me children’s stories and songs, audiobooks and iTunes were not even an idea yet. Some people think that the nostalgia of generations like mine has revived the vinyl, but I believe it is more than that. In a hyper mediated reality, where everything is achieved in a press of a screen and the feeling of constant drowning in information, disinformation, visual stimuli and sounds, records for me provide an island of serenity. I might not play them that much but the ritual of it is something no app can give me. Yes, it should be all about the music, but I don’t see it that way. It is also about the effort the artist made to get to you a quality product, it is about the sound quality of said music and it is about how you choose to support your favourite artists. At the end it is as much a consumer fad for some people as it is a conscious effort to detach yourself from the digital world we live in and support musicians. Also, we listen to music everywhere now. There is music in shops, music in cafes, we listen while travelling, keeping fit, walking on the street and it is often just this song, that song, playlist we put together. There is relevance though in just sitting down in the comfort of your own living room and playing a record from start to finish. No distractions, no interruptions, no randomness. And it starts with the feeling of opening that package, admiring the artwork, reading the notes inside, feeling the record and playing it for the first time. And no digital file can replace that.
Photo Credit: All photos used are taken by the author
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