In 2023, why is there such a thing as an old-fashioned vinyl record?

In the 1970s, access to music was scarce compared to today. Having a radio at home was a rarity. It‘s 2023, and vinyl records are a relic for many people. Most people know about vinyl through a few period movies, or through the few record stores they occasionally pass through. Listening to music on your phone is so common these days that a smartphone and truly wireless headphones are standard for most people. But this very simple way to listen to music was unthinkable before. It‘s funny how many people still enjoy listening to vinyl these days, but who is so obsessed with this vintage way of listening to music? The answer to that question begins in 1877.

The first attempt at sound retention came in 1877, just after Edison invented the phonograph, and in 1888, when the German Emil Berliner adopted a disc of wax as a new storage device for the phonograph, the first reproducible musical device. This is also considered the original form of vinyl records.

Due to the technical limitations of the time, the turntable speed was set at 78 revolutions per minute, and the single side could only record less than four minutes of music at most. Due to the material and recording method, vinyl records at this time were also called shellac records or coarse records. In 1948, Peter Goldmark, chief engineer at Columbia Records in the United States, reduced the speed of records from 78 RPM to 33.3 RPM and, by increasing the density of the grooving, allowed a previous 12-inch vinyl record to hold up to about 30 minutes of music on one side. Vinyl records have also acquired a new name - discography. It was the introduction of the compact disc that gave rise to the concept of the later album, which also greatly promoted the development of popular music.

The analog signal represented by the vinyl record actually recreates the sound signals in the physical world by recording them directly into the grooves of the vinyl record. Because there is no digital music sampling rate problem, theoretically can maximize the recovery of music as it is. And in theory, anything that resonates can make a vinyl record sound. Unfortunately, by this time, the development of vinyl records had basically ended, and vinyl records were replaced by tapes and CDS.

While vinyl was invented to make music easier to enjoy, it has nothing to do with convenience in an age of streaming. If you want to experience the charm of vinyl records, then you need to get a good record player and choose better styluses, amplifiers, speakers and other equipment. Not only that, a vinyl record costs about $10, and prices have been rising due to the rising cost of raw materials over the past two years and the dwindling stock of vinyl records. The resurgence of vinyl records in the past two years has also led many singers to re-release vinyl records. A set of Jay Chou‘s vinyl set was even sold for tens of thousands of yuan in the famous "seafood" market.

If vinyl is so inconvenient and so much more expensive than streaming music, why hasn‘t it been phased out? According to a report by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), vinyl surpassed CDS in revenue in 2020, the first time since 1986 that vinyl has surpassed CDS in revenue.

People listen to vinyl records now more to experience the concentration of listening to music, with a "listening" mentality to appreciate music. What they enjoy is the process of listening to a song without cutting, fast-forwarding, or being interrupted by wechat. Or maybe it‘s the fascination with analog music, with the loose, natural sound of vinyl records. It‘s our human instinct to want to enjoy something better, and so is listening to music. Vinyl is now more of a cultural symbol, representing a group of people who listen to music seriously.