Vinyl? It’s soaring….
mainNielsen Soundscan, the trusted indicator of US record sales, reports that LPs rose by 30.4 percent in 2013 to six million. That’s the biggest number since LPs were phased out almost quarter of a century ago. It was the only physical recorded format to register an increase.
source: digitalmusicnews.com
Are these NEW lps? For comparison sake it would be interesting to have the numbers for CDs. I have noticed that prices for some used lps on ebay or at amazon have gone up, some quite ridiculously so. But I recently paid 90 dollars for the complete Sibelius symphonies set by Watanabe and the Tokyo Philharmonic on 1966 Epic and it was worth every penny. And sounds superb except for a bit of high end distortion at climaxes.
One great thing about vinyl is that you can still buy it (though 2nd-hand) in good old-fashioned record stores. There are several where I live. It’s fun to flip thru the stacks and talk to the nerdy, music-obsessed staff, just like it’s 1980 or so. An experience the Internet can never replicate.
I’ve heard, through the grapevine and seen photos though facebook, that the Afiara Quartet has a Beethoven LP with an interesting cover that’s ready to come out, but as of yet, no info provided. If anyone knows, please post.