Is vinyl becoming too mainstream yet?

evsgjamm

What do you think? Is the resurgence of vinyl becoming too mainstream? Seems like whenever new music is brought up in digital or CD or DVD format... the most common question is "no vinyl??" ... so I thought I had to put it out there. Is anyone getting the impression that the market is being too flooded by vinyl? If so, is it something to be concerned about? Will the next generation of music listeners still be actively pursuing vinyl like they are today? Your thoughts please.

(I for one love my vinyl collection. 350+ albums of classic rock and some newer stuff. I started collecting in 2001 with older classic rock albums from vinyl stores and PJ & Nirvana vinyl that has always been available. I could still use some more classic rock albums and am becoming quite the audiophile with the plans to purchase a high-end Hi-Fi system soon. As always, I'll pick up any PJ and Nirvana vinyl that I deem suitable for my collection, as well as any CD, DVD, Blu-Ray, cassette, poster, painting etc etc etc... I'm a collector at heart)

chadwick

millions will not ever get a record player

Empty Glass

Must not be too mainstream. There's a band that wrote a song about playing records and they won't re-issue their catalog on vinyl

smarchee

Empty Glass wrote:

Must not be too mainstream. There's a band that wrote a song about playing records and they won't re-issue their catalog on vinyl

+1

Plus, I cant get Blind Melon on vinyl, there isn't enough vinyl

morello

I don't think it'll ever be too mainstream. Like said above a here proportion of the population will never buy vinyl vsthe pretty tiny proportion that buy exclusively vinyl + anyway the sound is just better so I don't care if it's mainstream, if mainstream = better sound yay! + if it becoming more mainstream would bring the price down = yay again.

peacefrompaul

I don't think so. I'd like it to be more mainstream... it would be pretty awesome. Sadly, my generation is really into listening to singles and not entire albums for the most part.

STAYSEA

NEVER!!!

Some hipster kid asked me if I had just bought a poster, when I purchased vinyl at a show.
Some AARP couple asked me if I had just bought a program book.
When I told the couple it was vinyl, they freaked out.
"Vinyl...???!!! Like a Wax Record? They sell those again?"

To me it's always been a family tradition to play vinyls, but some in my family don't share.
This one Lady has a large collection of 33's?

I have a Stanton, but I don't think I have the accessory to fit them.

Mainstream is good. I don't have to shop at Hot Topic, fly to California, or drive an hour downtown.
The price value is going to drop. This only means cheaper wax, and more sales for the Artists.
Good things


Cassette tapes are trending. To me, that is annoying. I've seen some tapes sell for over $100 dollars.
Once a tape magnetically adapts to the cassette players head unit, it gets funky when played in another deck.
And then another player eats it.. and you have to get that pencil out to wind it back up.. hoping it's not too crinkled

We all have different media loves I suppose

SatansFuton

What is "too mainstream"? What would be the potential dilemma? Seems like the more mainstream vinyl is the better it is for consumers who want more vinyl. Unless people enjoy their vinyl simply because it isn't mainstream. But for people who just enjoy vinyl as their format of choice I can't see anything wrong with it becoming too mainstream. I thought most people liked vinyl because of the sound, not because fewer people have it.

STAYSEA

SatansFuton wrote:

What is "too mainstream"? What would be the potential dilemma? Seems like the more mainstream vinyl is the better it is for consumers who want more vinyl. Unless people enjoy their vinyl simply because it isn't mainstream. But for people who just enjoy vinyl as their format of choice I can't see anything wrong with it becoming too mainstream. I thought most people liked vinyl because of the sound, not because fewer people have it.

But alas, Quality sound never lasts anywhere.

I have a John Lennon LP, that is so flat... it sounds like squirrel farts

81

ever get a feeling that a thread is stalking you?

mfc2006

81 wrote:

ever get a feeling that a thread is stalking you?

mookeywrench

2012 Album Sales: 218 million units
2012 Adele 21 album sales(2 year old album): 4.1 million units
All 2012 Vinyl album sales: 3.2 million units
1977 Vinyl album sales: 344 million units

Got a ways to go before considered mainstream.

SatansFuton

STAYSEA wrote:

SatansFuton wrote:

What is "too mainstream"? What would be the potential dilemma? Seems like the more mainstream vinyl is the better it is for consumers who want more vinyl. Unless people enjoy their vinyl simply because it isn't mainstream. But for people who just enjoy vinyl as their format of choice I can't see anything wrong with it becoming too mainstream. I thought most people liked vinyl because of the sound, not because fewer people have it.

But alas, Quality sound never lasts anywhere.

I have a John Lennon LP, that is so flat... it sounds like squirrel farts

I thought vinyl records were supposed to have an extremely long lifespan, like hundreds of years. At least that what vinyl proponents are always saying. Does that just mean the record will still exist, regardless of whether or not it sounds like "squirrel farts"?

By the way, wasn't "Squirrel Farts" the working title for "Pet Sounds"?

mookeywrench

SatansFuton wrote:

STAYSEA wrote:

SatansFuton wrote:

What is "too mainstream"? What would be the potential dilemma? Seems like the more mainstream vinyl is the better it is for consumers who want more vinyl. Unless people enjoy their vinyl simply because it isn't mainstream. But for people who just enjoy vinyl as their format of choice I can't see anything wrong with it becoming too mainstream. I thought most people liked vinyl because of the sound, not because fewer people have it.

But alas, Quality sound never lasts anywhere.

I have a John Lennon LP, that is so flat... it sounds like squirrel farts

I thought vinyl records were supposed to have an extremely long lifespan, like hundreds of years. At least that what vinyl proponents are always saying. Does that just mean the record will still exist, regardless of whether or not it sounds like "squirrel farts"?

By the way, wasn't "Squirrel Farts" the working title for "Pet Sounds"?

They're talking about the physical material itself...the vinyl record's sound quality will degrade with every play it gets (you're scraping a diamond rock against a piece of rubbery plastic)

A CD is a slice of metal pressed bewtween two pieces of plastic...if even a molecule of air gets between the piece of metal and plastic in the press process it will cause the metal to oxidize over time and leave the CD to be unreadable by the laser. vinyl is a solid chunk of plastic, and it breaks down like all other plastics....very slowly.

And little known fact...every Beach Boys album's working title was named after animal flatulance.

SatansFuton

mookeywrench wrote:

They're talking about the physical material itself...the vinyl record's sound quality will degrade with every play it gets (you're scraping a diamond rock against a piece of rubbery plastic)

A CD is a slice of metal pressed bewtween two pieces of plastic...if even a molecule of air gets between the piece of metal and plastic in the press process it will cause the metal to oxidize over time and leave the CD to be unreadable by the laser. vinyl is a solid chunk of plastic, and it breaks down like all other plastics....very slowly.

Ah, interesting, thanks.

mookeywrench wrote:

And little known fact...every Beach Boys album's working title was named after animal flatulance.

I know, I have some rare test pressings

STAYSEA

SatansFuton wrote:

mookeywrench wrote:

They're talking about the physical material itself...the vinyl record's sound quality will degrade with every play it gets (you're scraping a diamond rock against a piece of rubbery plastic)

A CD is a slice of metal pressed bewtween two pieces of plastic...if even a molecule of air gets between the piece of metal and plastic in the press process it will cause the metal to oxidize over time and leave the CD to be unreadable by the laser. vinyl is a solid chunk of plastic, and it breaks down like all other plastics....very slowly.

Ah, interesting, thanks.

mookeywrench wrote:

And little known fact...every Beach Boys album's working title was named after animal flatulance.

I know, I have some rare test pressings


So Happy I'm not the only one with a Dolphin Flatulence dilemma.

Where is John Stamos?

DewieCox

SatansFuton wrote:

What is "too mainstream"? What would be the potential dilemma? Seems like the more mainstream vinyl is the better it is for consumers who want more vinyl. Unless people enjoy their vinyl simply because it isn't mainstream. But for people who just enjoy vinyl as their format of choice I can't see anything wrong with it becoming too mainstream. I thought most people liked vinyl because of the sound, not because fewer people have it.

I think there's a fairly high percentage of vinyl buyers that are doing it b/c it's the hip thing. I hope it truly gets people turned on to the sound quality that it can offer, but I've seen where some pretty horrid sounding records get hyped up having great sound.

SatansFuton

DewieCox wrote:

I think there's a fairly high percentage of vinyl buyers that are doing it b/c it's the hip thing.

If I may be perfectly honest, I think it's the main thing these days. For a while it hasn't been the most convenient format, it's been the least, but people have made other arguments for it. But the longer and longer this shit goes on the more I'm convinced it's just a rarity/collectible thing. The arguments for vinyl seem to fall by the wayside day after day as just more bullshit. I think it's just a hipster thing. As evidenced by this thread itself. What difference does being "too" mainstream make if it really does sound better? What does mainstream have to do with it at all? It seems to be more and more about the rarity of it rather than any actual benefit. Further evidenced by the fact that Pearl Jam can release the same album on a different color of vinyl, and people will almost murder each other over it.

I'd be willing to do a Pepsi challenge with CD, Vinyl, MP3, FLAC, etc. The main reason being because there have already been so many and it's all horseshit. I already tried a FLAC/MP3 test on one of my fellow Stones fans here, unfortunately they hailed the FLAC when it was just MP3 converted to FLAC. I bet I can get a vinyl enthusiast to commit to 8 track before the day is done.

evsgjamm

STAYSEA wrote:

Mainstream is good. ... This only means cheaper wax, and more sales for the Artists.
Good things

That's a very good point and one that I have to agree with


Cassette tapes are trending. To me, that is annoying. I've seen some tapes sell for over $100 dollars.
Once a tape magnetically adapts to the cassette players head unit, it gets funky when played in another deck.
And then another player eats it.. and you have to get that pencil out to wind it back up.. hoping it's not too crinkled

Really!!!?! well there ya go. Different strokes for different folks. I have a small cassette collection, mostly of classic rock and 90's alternative, but haven't yet seen a cassette for oh.... over $15 I'd say. Which cassette(s) do you see going for premium dollars? Also, I appreciate your comments on the cassettes being finicky from one player to the next. Gotta keep a pencil handy if you've got a cassette player no doubt

evsgjamm

SatansFuton wrote:

What is "too mainstream"? What would be the potential dilemma? Seems like the more mainstream vinyl is the better it is for consumers who want more vinyl. Unless people enjoy their vinyl simply because it isn't mainstream. But for people who just enjoy vinyl as their format of choice I can't see anything wrong with it becoming too mainstream. I thought most people liked vinyl because of the sound, not because fewer people have it.

You're totally accurate, however, in my odd brainwaves I find thoughts coming to mind. Yes, people do enjoy vinyl because of the sound quality. When played over a nice Hi-Fi system, the sound is unbelievable. To respond to your comment on "people enjoy their vinyl simply because it isn't mainstream" part of my says I agree with that. I am a person that enjoys the sound of vinyl (it's superior IMO) but I also enjoy that there are only a handful of close friends that have a passion for spinning / collecting vinyl. I'd say 100% of my friends have CD's &/or MP3 players. I guess this answers my own question. That vinyl isn't mainstream... hmmmm... interesting revelation I'm having here. However, I still know that vinyl is resurgent and am enjoying the comments from everyone.

evsgjamm

mfc2006 wrote:

81 wrote:

ever get a feeling that a thread is stalking you?

Sorry. I was unsure of which index to post this topic in, so I took my freedom and let it run wild and posted it in 3 indices. I've been foolish before, I'm foolish now, and I'll forever be foolish in many more situations down the line. :(

evsgjamm

mookeywrench wrote:

2012 Album Sales: 218 million units
2012 Adele 21 album sales(2 year old album): 4.1 million units
All 2012 Vinyl album sales: 3.2 million units
1977 Vinyl album sales: 344 million units

Got a ways to go before considered mainstream.

Good stats. Thanks for posting

evsgjamm

SatansFuton wrote:

DewieCox wrote:

I think there's a fairly high percentage of vinyl buyers that are doing it b/c it's the hip thing.

If I may be perfectly honest, I think it's the main thing these days. For a while it hasn't been the most convenient format, it's been the least, but people have made other arguments for it. But the longer and longer this shit goes on the more I'm convinced it's just a rarity/collectible thing. The arguments for vinyl seem to fall by the wayside day after day as just more bullshit. I think it's just a hipster thing. As evidenced by this thread itself. What difference does being "too" mainstream make if it really does sound better? What does mainstream have to do with it at all? It seems to be more and more about the rarity of it rather than any actual benefit. Further evidenced by the fact that Pearl Jam can release the same album on a different color of vinyl, and people will almost murder each other over it.

I'd be willing to do a Pepsi challenge with CD, Vinyl, MP3, FLAC, etc. The main reason being because there have already been so many and it's all horseshit. I already tried a FLAC/MP3 test on one of my fellow Stones fans here, unfortunately they hailed the FLAC when it was just MP3 converted to FLAC. I bet I can get a vinyl enthusiast to commit to 8 track before the day is done.

I admire your position on this. This is the kind of response that could / should set off a plethora of replies. I was just reading up on Neil Young's endorsement of the "Pono system" (not phono... but pono) and it sounds SO so intriguing. Google it. It sounds to good to be true, but hey, so many things in life have that actually turned out to be GOOD and TRUE.