Vinyl Strikes (Not Once But Twice): The Non-Digital Future of Listening to Music?

Having been deemed to be obsolete nearly 30 years ago and faced with near extinction, vinyl records are enjoying since 2011 a major revival and seem to be changing the way we listen to music again. This paper uses an interactive-autoethnographic approach to explore how and why vinyl records enjoy such a growing popularity and deep resonance with consumers in today’s digital age. As nearly 48% of vinyl consumers these days are under the age of 35, attention is also paid to examining whether the resurgence of vinyl’s popularity may be signs of a changing marketplace. We found that, apart from being perceived to be technologically superior compared to digital music formats, young consumers are particularly intrigued by vinyl’s materiality and experience the material ritual of handling and playing vinyl records as “something new” and exciting. But the research’s most important finding is that many consumers turn to vinyl because of feeling disappointed, exploited, oppressed and betrayed by the digital music formats providers they once trusted and bought into. By contrast, vinyl is seen as a dependable, reliable and trustworthy recorded music format that offers them true independence and full control.