Vinyl records have outlived CDs, cassettes, and MP3 players.
Despite the vast array of streaming platforms available, vinyl record sales surpassed CDs in 2022 to become the most-sold physical music format, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
“There’s nothing like the sound of the stylus hitting your record once it’s on the turntable,” said collector Mark Corner. “The analogue is more of a wide and warmer sound. It may not be as crisp as a digital source, but it’s a nicer version because that’s the way it sounds in the studio.”
Corner is the creator of the Calgary Music Collectors Show, which is held in October and April each year. The event has grown into the largest event of its kind in Alberta.
The modernization of the music industry made listening easier for many people. With streaming platforms offering a complete music catalogue, subscribers can access almost all recorded tracks throughout history.
But for Corner, no amount of convenience compares to the sound produced by vinyl.
“With streaming, you can listen to a number of different sources of music; you can mix it all up,” he said. “But when you’re listening to an album on vinyl, you’re listening to the album the way the artist meant for you to listen to it.”
For Corner, vinyl collecting connects him to the artistry of the musicians he looks up to.
“It’s like a piece of art,” he said. “So you appreciate the record itself. You appreciate the label, the liner notes that come with the inserts you can read.”
It was at the grocery store checkout counters that Corner was introduced to vinyl records. Instead of the tabloid magazines displayed on the stands nowadays, Corner was greeted by records of bands like The Monkees and The Beatles as a young boy.
Matt Homme, another record collector, says it can be a meditative experience.
“There’s something soothing about listening to vinyl,” he said. “It’s a whole package.”
In a digital world, consumers hope to find warmth in the nostalgia brought by physical media, and record collectors are transported back in time once the needle scratches the track. The tangible aspect and the ordeal of hunting for specific records gratify collectors and encourage them to continue this avocation.
The vinyl-collecting scene is also seeing a boon in new collectors. With younger demographics interested in vinyl, the record-collecting culture is expanding, allowing more space for new blood.
“It’s surprising to me, but it is a huge resurgence,” Homme said. “It’s good news for people like me,”
However, the revival of records is also causing prices to soar, burning holes in some collectors’ pockets.
“It’s going to be very difficult for new collectors to quench the thirst for new records on a consistent basis,” Corner said. “I don’t see the price coming down anytime soon, unfortunately.”
Homme also expressed concern with the current landscape of vinyl production.
“There’s wider breadth of music being printed and re-issued than before,” Homme said. “But so much stuff is being re-issued that sometimes the quality of the vinyl suffers.”
As new market outlets are established on the Internet, it also affects the cost of re-selling and the way collectors acquire specific pieces. According to Corner, buying LPs on websites like Discogs and eBay often costs consumers more than physically hunting records, as they pay for convenience.
Despite these drawbacks, Homme is happy to see new entrants in the audiophile community. “It’s crucial,” he said. “We need them to keep the business alive.”
When Corner started collecting vinyl in the 1960s, he did not expect to continue growing his collection.
“I remember paying about $3 a record,” he said. “But they increased the cost of records to around $5.99. I said, ‘No, there’s no way I’m gonna be able to afford this hobby anymore.’ But I managed to keep going.”
After 50 years of collecting, Corner has dedicated his house’s basement to storing half a century’s accumulation of vinyl records. Records by David Bowie and Lou Reed and bands like the Ramones, and Nirvana adorn the shelves. They are among Corner’s most prized possessions.
Corner hopes for the current collectors to keep going as well.
“Eventually, a lot of old collectors are gonna pass it on,” he said. “We want the younger people to keep the industry growing; hopefully, it’ll stick around for another 50 years. But we will see what happens, right?”
