By William Bradley
Joseph DiChiara, an avid vintage records collector, has been growing his collection for over 18 years, since he was just 22. With over $50,000 worth of vinyl records stocked up, he has seen the growth, decline and resurgence of the vinyl era in recent years.
“I feel when you flip through songs on Apple Music or Spotify, you’re not actively listening, but when you put a vinyl on listening to the album is the activity,” he said.
In an era dominated by digital streaming, vinyl records have made a comeback, with sales in the U.S. reaching new heights and younger audiences captivated.
“While I think a lot of the appreciation of vinyl records is passed down from older generations, there are many younger generation vinyl collectors out there. I truly believe the younger generation wants to collect and own what they love in a physical form.” said DiChiara, a father of two.
DiChiara is not wrong, statistics indicate a surge in vinyl record purchases within recent years. In 2022, revenues from vinyl records grew 17% to $1.2 billion, accounting for 71% of physical format revenues and surpassing CD sales for the first time since 1987. According to Pitchfork, one of the music industry’s leading independent news sources, Taylor Swift is one artist contributing to this as her fans are actively collecting her recent releases in handheld copies. Swift accounted for 1 in every 25 LPs sold in 2022 across the United States.
Vinyl record stores such as Purchase Street Records in New Bedford are feeling this resurgence.
“Both media extensions have already been around and will always be,” said Richard Chouinard, the manager of Purchase Street Records, “Streaming is a convivence at work, exercising, and driving. Record collecting and listening gives you a sense of accomplishment on finding a record as well as makes you relax when actually taking the time to listen to the music.”
Independent record stores like Purchase Street Records have been instrumental in this trend, accounting for 45% of all vinyl sales during this recent period of upsurges, totaling over 100 million units from 2016 to 2023 according to Luminate Data Trends.
Author and music expert Jennifer Bickerdike, who wrote the hit book “Why Vinyl Matters: a Manifesto From Musicians and Fans”, said vinyl is important in today’s world.
“Vinyl is the physical manifestation of beliefs, values, and ethos- the art, the lyrics, the credits, and the music itself. Purchasing the format in a medium you can hold shows you exist.” said Bickerdike.
College students are discovering vinyl records for listening to music.
“Vinyl records give hardcore fanbases a unique way to “collect” the music they listen to. We also live in a generation that praises the ‘90s, which vinyl made up for a big portion of. Younger kids are turning to vinyl as their preferred format to fit an aesthetic. It’s an experience listening to a record rather than digital music, one example being the frequencies,” said Owen Ryan, a Stonehill College student.
Stonehill student Andrew Machado agreed.
“I would say as time goes on it holds a much more nostalgic vibe, the feeling of just putting on a record feels like it means more to me since I haven’t been around them my whole life. I’d say a lot of kids can hear the difference.” Machado said.
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