Vinyl Resurgence: Escaping Digitalised Music’s ‘Iron Cage’

Despite having been deemed to be obsolete back in 1994, vinyl records are enjoying a major resurgence since 2011 with a year-on-year sales growth of 40%. Although marketing scholars of portray vinyl consumers as the ‘other’ in today’s digital society – be it as nostalgists with a romantic affection for vinyl’s materiality or as countercultural subcultures – the truth is that vinyl records have become popular with mainstream consumers and that nearly 48% of vinyl consumers are aged 35 years and younger. By drawing on Weber’s conflict theory, this study aims to explore how the growing popularity of vinyl records with mainstream consumers may be an escape from what is experienced as an ‘iron cage’ increasingly imposed by digital music providers. We found that mainstream consumers feel indeed oppressed, exploited and trapped into an iron cage created by the digital music providers’ irrational rationalisation of their services. Hence, they turn to vinyl records’ materiality for comfort.