Vinyl
Vinyl Just Had Its Best Sales Week in History
We already knew vinyl was making a tremendous comeback, but the format has downright shattered records this month. The most important of them all: vinyl just had its best sales week ever. As Billboard reports, there were 1.842 million (!) LP’s sold in the US during the week leading up to Christmas, ending on December 24th. That’s the biggest week the format has had since Nielsen/MRC Data began tracking sales information in 1991. The previous record was achieved just a week prior, when 1.445 million vinyl records were sold between December 10th and December 17th. These gargantuan figures arrive at the end of a year that’s been historically great for vinyl. For the first time in 34 years, LP sales outpaced CDs during four separate weeks in 2020 (all of them since September), w...
Why Fidelity…
Considering the hyperactive mind of the modern music listener, the 50 million songs in Spotify’s catalog and Amazon’s universe of subpar listening devices, can anyone tell which music medium sounds best anymore? What does “sounds best” even mean? While we’re at it, what the hell is sound? Glad you asked because there’s a whole lotta science in sound quality that may go in one ear and out the other, so to speak. Sound, as studious readers may know, is a vibration of the air particles around us, an energy which travels in waves that cause our eardrums to vibrate and us to experience noise, some of which we call music. Tape recorders preserve sound waves physically, using components that realign magnetic particles on tape to represent the wave’s loudness and rate of frequency vibration....
Win a Christmas Vinyl Collection with Mariah Carey, Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton, and More
We’re well into December at this point, which means it’s time to ring the bells of holiday music. Celebrations may look different this year, but the timeless sounds of the season are still here to bring warmth and good cheer to your Zoom gatherings. To help make sure your homes are filled with the carols and classics you love, we’ve teamed with Sony to give away a collection of Christmas vinyl from all-time great artists. Five (5) winners will receive a bundle of vinyl that packages together nine beloved Christmas albums. Featured LPs include: — Elvis Presley’s 2012 compilation The Classic Christmas Album — Gene Autry’s 1957 Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Other Christmas Favorites — Johnny Mathis’ 1958 favorite Merry Christmas — Sax legend Kenny G’s 1994 album Miracles: The Holiday Alb...
Tower Records Is Back… as an Online Music Store
Tower Records, the iconic music store chain that closed its doors nearly 14 years ago, is back. On Friday, the beloved franchise announced it’s returning as an online service — just in time for vinyl’s record-breaking growth. The new Tower Records has plenty of music on sale already, including vinyl,… Please click the link below to read the full article. Tower Records Is Back… as an Online Music Store Nina Corcoran You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.
Someone Forked Up $1,764 for a 12″ Vinyl Version of Avicii’s “Levels”
How much would you be willing to pay for vinyl from Avicii? How much would you be willing to pay for vinyl from Avicii? One eager buyer has dropped a cool $1,764 to purchase a special 12″ vinyl single of “Levels,” the legendary dance music producer’s breakthrough 2011 single, on Discogs. Discogs runs a monthly feature about the 30 most expensive items purchased from its marketplace, and in the October edition, the 12″ limited version of Avicii’s “Levels” appears in the #19 spot. Pink Floyd‘s 1967 The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn LP topped the list at $6,500. Prevalently known as the most recognizable song in the history of EDM, the inescapable “Levels” has stood the test of time as a generational ...
Watch Armin van Buuren and Ferry Corsten Perform Rare B2B Trance Set on Vinyl
Fans of trance music are in for a treat after Armin van Buuren and Ferry Corsten—two of the genre’s most iconic artists—uploaded a rare B2B trance set. The set, performed completely on vinyl, is a must-watch for any trance connoisseur, considering the mythos of van Buuren and Corsten. Over a full hour, the two dance music legends spin a slew of classics, including Inertia‘s “The System,” Tiësto‘s “Lethal Industry,” and Rank 1‘s iconic “Airwave.” They tied a bow on the performance by closing it with “Brute,” their timeless collaboration that was released on Corsten’s Flashover Recordings imprint back in 2011. You can watch the full B2B vinyl set below, courtesy of van Buuren’s A State Of ...
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie Soundtrack Gets First-Ever Release from Mondo
Yeah, bitch! A full year after the film’s initial release, the soundtrack to El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie is finally seeing release. The 26-track collection is being pressed as a double-LP exclusively from Mondo. On sale beginning Wednesday, October 14th, the soundtrack’s debut pressing features the complete score from Dave Porter, who also penned the award-winning music from Breaking Bad. Also present are nearly a dozen of El Camino’s perfectly timed needle-drops, such as Lynyrd Skynyrd (“Call Me the Breeze”), Jim White featuring Aimee Mann (“Static on the Radio”), Family Force 5 (“Kountry Gentleman”), and Lulu (“To Sir with Love”). In addition, there’s an exclusive Chloe x Halle bonus track called “Enchanted” that wasn’t featured in the movie. The vinyl comes housed in artwork from Ma...
Baroness Announce Stunning Picture-Disc Vinyl Editions of Red, Blue, and Yellow & Green
Baroness are releasing picture-disc vinyl editions of their first three full-length LPs, Red Album, Blue Record, and the double album Yellow & Green. They’re currently available for pre-order direct from the band for $29.99 each and arrive October 24th. It marks the first time the albums have seen a picture-disc pressing, having been released on a variety of color variants over the years. Each LP brings frontman John Dyer Baizley’s glorious cover art to wax — the first side of each emblazoned with the album artwork and the reverse side adorned with alternative patterns from the original sleeve designs. Each picture-disc edition is housed in a gatefold sleeve and limited to 4,500 copies. Baroness fans can attest to the collectivity of the band’s many vinyl color variants, so these might...
Geezer Butler’s Three Solo Albums to Get First-Ever Vinyl Release
Founding Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler has announced the first-ever vinyl pressings of his three solo albums: Plastic Planet (1995), Black Science (1997), and Ohmwork (2005). They will also be reissued on CD and arrive October 30th. Plastic Planet was issued under the artist name g/z/r, while Black Science was originally credited to the single name Geezer. Ohmwork, meanwhile, was released under the moniker GZR. For the 2020 reissues and vinyl pressings, those monikers have been dropped, and each album is credited to Geezer Butler. The timeline of the solo records aligns with Butler’s stints outside Black Sabbath. Plastic Planet came after Butler departed the group following 1994’s Cross Purposes, though he would rejoin the band for various reunions beginning in 1997. In the meantime,...
Nine Inch Nails’ Quake Soundtrack and Trent Reznor’s The Social Network Score Get Vinyl Releases
Nine Inch Nails’ Quake LP and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ The Social Network LP, courtesy of Funhouse Entertainment Nine Inch Nails’ soundtrack for the classic 1996 first-person shooter Quake is now available on vinyl for the first time ever. In addition, a “Definitive Edition” vinyl reissue of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ Oscar-winning score for The Social Network has also been released. The brooding soundtrack for Quake showcased Reznor’s early interest in dark soundscapes and ambient music. He would explore these musical ideas further on future Nine Inch Nails albums, but Quake stands as an early foray into the world of instrumental soundtracks. Of note for vinyl collectors, the Quake score has never been officially released as a stand-alone soundtrack. The music o...
Vinyl Sales Surpass CD Sales for the First Time in 34 Years
It’s been a long time coming, but now it’s officially official: vinyl sales have surpassed CD sales in the US. According to a new report from The Recording Industry Association of America, vinyl records accounted for $232.1 million of music sales in the first six months of 2020, whereas CDs have only brought in $129.9 million. This is the first time since 1986 — 34 years! — that vinyl has outsold CDs. Physical sales overall dropped by 23% in the first half of this year, likely because fewer people are leaving their homes, nevermind to visit music stores. However, CD sales declined by 48% whereas vinyl sales started to climb, particularly during the week of Record Store Day “Drops” when 802,000 records were sold. Unsurprisingly, digital sales continued to decrease by 22%, accounting for $35...
Vinyl Outsells CDs for the First Time Since the Mid-’80s
A new report from the RIAA (Record Industry Association of America) found that vinyl album revenues of $232 million accounted for 62% of total physical revenues (CDs, vinyl), marking the first time vinyl exceeded CD sales since the mid-1980s. By comparison, $129.9 million was spent on compact discs. That said, vinyl sales still only accounted for 4% of total recorded music revenues. In total, revenue for the music business increased by 5.6%, totaling $5.7 billion in the first half of 2020, due to a growth in streaming revenue (paid subscriptions were up 24% and overall streaming revenue was up 14%). “These are historically difficult times: the live music sector is shut down; studio recording is limited, and millions of Americans are out of work across the broader economy,” RIAA chairm...
