Everything old is new again
It's 2021 and vinyls are outselling CDs.
In the first half of this year more than 17 million vinyl records were sold in the US — nearly double the number for the first six months of 2020. If you didn't know anything about the formats, you'd be forgiven for thinking vinyl records were a new innovative way to listen to music.
But making vinyls remains a long and difficult process, often relying on technology or machines that were pumping out records in the 70s and 80s. Indeed, The New York Times reports this week that production logjams are now common for artists, as vinyl makers rely on decades-old pressing machines.
Put simply, supply can't keep up with demand.
Even Adele, who has a new album coming out, had to set her release date six months in advance, to make sure vinyls would be ready in time.
Nostalgia is big business, but it's not just older listeners who are into vinyls. Popular Gen Z artists like Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish have made vinyls, each respectively selling tens of thousands to their (mostly) younger fanbase.
Will CDs ever become romanticized in the same way vinyl has? What about cassettes?
P.S. Check out our chart of the entire US music industry by format.
