You might be wondering why custom vinyl records have been around for a time now. It was supposed to be just a fad, a sort of nostalgia that would fade away. But lo and behold, vinyl is still rockin’ with a vengeance, as if to assert its place. OGs never die, that’s for sure.
We know that the format is a bit costly for most independent artists but many independent acts release vinyl records nowadays.
How is this possible?
You see, even if vinyl pressing is quite costly, there’s a great demand for it because it’s easier to sell online and how manufacturers do custom vinyl pressing today makes everything more affordable and accessible to many indie acts.
But the more important question is WHY.
WHY ARE MUSIC ARTISTS RELEASING ALBUMS IN VINYL RECORDS?
The simple answer would be the increased interest people have towards the format.
If you haven’t been informed yet, custom vinyl records have been gaining more and more audience since around 2010, and just last year it made more sales than CDs in the US!
The sales accounted for $619.6 million last year, increasing by 29.2% as compared to last 2019’s $479.5 million. What’s more is that vinyl records are not only resurfacing in the US, but all over the world as well, with different genres bringing it back to the game. The format sold nearly 12 million copies all around the world and has since continued for 2021’s first half of the year.
The statistics above proves the growing audience the format has for the past years.
Why is this a reason for music artists’ choice?
Well, these artists take advantage of the situation to promote themselves, gain new fans or listeners, and, of course, make some extra money. Custom vinyl records are cool merch items too and people want to bring something valuable after a concert.
BUT WHAT CAUSED THIS INCREASE IN PEOPLE’S INTEREST?
Without the people’s interest for custom vinyl records, I’m sure the format would not have thrived after it was replaced by CDs.
Thank goodness that, though it wavered, it never really faded. And we got the pandemic to be thankful too.
Thanks to the pandemic, bored people quarantined in their houses developed an interest for the format. There are many things that caused this increased interest, but let me enumerate five of them for you.
LISTENING TO VINYL IS EXPERIENTIAL
First one is its tangibility which gives off a novel vibe in this digital dominated generation.
With all the online streaming sites, digital downloads, and even CDs, all give less tactile connection when compared to vinyl records.
You very well know how these records need to be flipped just to play the whole album, right? Unlike the other mentioned formats, listening to music on custom vinyl records is not effortless. It’s like a ritual. You have to take the vinyl out from its sleeve, put it on the player, and not leave the room in case you won’t hear the music.
WARM SOUND
Second thing would be the high quality sound it offers for its audience. Vinyl records are known for being top tier when it comes to sound quality and there is no exaggeration in that.
Unlike the digital ones that are compressed and just snippets of the analog soundwave, vinyl records are the analog sound waves themselves, leaving no musical data behind.
It also has this crack and pop sound that makes listening to vinyl more romantic.
IT’S COLLECTIBLE
Fans love collecting things from their favorite celebrities, especially ones that are limited editions or ones with many editions. They have real fun collecting these, actually it's not just with vinyl records, it's also true for other merchandise released by their beloved celebs. But of course, you would need to make them look worth collecting too.
You can show off your vinyl when people visit your home and store them well so you can sell them in 10-20 or 100 years. The records you have now will be precious relics, a great storage for good music.
NUMEROUS OPTIONS FOR CUSTOMIZATION
This is what makes your vinyl records worth collecting, visual-wise. In the earlier era of the format, black vinyl records were the most common and only a handful of differently colored vinyl records were available. However, as time passed by, vinyl record manufacturers have offered many more options for vinyl pressings and vinyl packaging.
Vinyl records are also known now as custom vinyl records for they no longer look generic, instead they look more personalized, like having its own identity. There are many elements of the vinyl album that they can customize. The jacket, the inner sleeves, and the vinyl records themselves.
Jackets can be just a single jacket, which only houses one record, or a four-pocket jacket, which can house at least four records. Inner sleeves can also be printed or just plain colored. But the most exciting part here is the vinyl record customization.
One of the most used in the release of most artists on vinyl albums are those colored custom vinyl records that may be mono colored or multicolored. And that’s not the end of it, these multicolored custom vinyl records can have different designs depending on what the artists choose to have, some are: splatter, checkered, ombre, color within a color, etc.
Vinyl records are also available not just in circles, they are also available in geometric and non-geometric shapes. Moreover, there are vinyl records that glow in the dark and even ones that bear artworks and photographs.
SHORT RUN VINYL PRESSINGS ARE NOW AVAILABLE
As much as artists love all the reasons enumerated above, it would all just be a plan if there was no way they could afford the custom vinyl pressing. Due to this reason, artists have been able to choose to release their albums on vinyl records. These small run vinyl pressings offered by pressing plants have greatly helped artists, most especially indie artists, in realizing their dream of releasing in the format.
This offer allows indie artists to have vinyl pressings with lesser units ordered, let say 100 copies. Some pressing plants even offer as low as just one unit for their small run vinyl pressing. This is very helpful because the more units artists buy the bigger the expense, but if they order in smaller units, they will cut costs. In addition, they won’t have to worry about not selling the excess copies. Since they have a smaller number of copies they will be assured that they will sell most, if not all, of it.
CONCLUSION:
Musicians have been releasing their albums on vinyl records because it’s gaining popularity and more and more people are buying them. They’re also tangible, collectible, customizable, and its available on-demand offer.
Of course there are 1000 reasons but the bottomline is this: vinyl is cool and it’s not too risky to make anymore.