New vinyl

New Vinyl

When Led Zeppelin released remastered, deluxe editions of their first three albums this year, they weren’t just streamed digitally or produced on CD. They were released, too, as old-fashioned vinyl records: that circular mold of plastic that for decades had been the favored medium of thousands of music-mad teens. This is no anomaly: last year dozens of groups released both digital and analogue sounds, resulting in sales of more than 6 million vinyl albums in the American market alone (considerable growth given that fewer than 500,000 were sold in 1993). As you’d expect, a growth in vinyl also means a growth in sales of record players: both new and old. Music Direct, one of America’s biggest music retailers, reports selling thousands of models ranging in price from $249 to $30,000 – and more than 500,000 vinyl albums besides – last year. Why do they believe the resurgence is happening? Because children’s parents play CDs. And why would you want to use the medium enjoyed by your mother and father when you can handle the über-cool object revered by DJs? henleydesigns.co.uk