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Vinyl resurgence
Comeback of the 12
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NUMBER EIGHTY-0NE APRIL 10 CIRCULATION 22,000

ALEXANDRIA BEACONSFIELD CHIPPENDALE DARLINGTON ERSKINEVILLE GLEBE KINGS CROSS NEWTOWN REDFERN SURRY HILLS WATERLOO WOOLLOOMOOLOO ZETLAND

The Review April 10 11

Vinyl resurgence comeback of the 12

GEORGIA FLYNN On February 24 this year, Louie Sulcer of Woodstock inadvertently made history by pressing a button. Indeed, until Steve Jobs personally called Mr Sulcer to inform him that he had downloaded the ten billionth song from iTunes, the Georgian native had no idea that he was doing anything more spectacular than downloading an mp3 of Johnny Cashs 1958 hit Guess ings Happen at Way. For some the name of the song is irrelevant; what it truly represented was the sounding of the death knell for the compact disc. e compact disc is not alone, teetering on the brink of obsolescence. With each innovative digital platform, another traditional form faces extinction. Nonetheless, perhaps these beleaguered old media platforms will be able to draw some comfort from the music industry. When Sony/Philips released the compact disc in 1983, the end of vinyl appeared to be in sight. As early as 1986, newspapers were sounding the death knell for vinyl records. Jonathan Taki of the Chicago Tribune described the slow but steady decay of the black vinyl disc as cassettes and CD sales soared and LP sales stagnated. Over 20 years later, with CDs themselves being threatened by music downloads, it appears that vinyl records are enjoying a renewed popularity. According to the Nielson SoundScan, gives a sense of context and of history. An element of the resurgence can be attributed to the cultural capital that comes from using the same format that saw Bob Dylans Highway 61 Revisited and the Beatles A Hard Days Night. Certainly, a perusal of the best-selling albums of 2008 exposes an equal measure of the classic rock, re-released under the auspices of Capitol Records, and the indie rock genre, with Radioheads In Rainbows topping the list. Riding the wave of renewed interest in the 12-inch record, the Marrickville-based Vinyl Factory manufactures records for both independent and major record labels. e audiophiles will bang on for hours about vinyl being more faithful reproduction than CDs, says Mr Cuddihy. But I think there is so much more to the whole history of a record, its owners, scratches, scu s, ngerprints and dirt. Vinyl has a certain dilapidated charm. In 1979, readers of Rolling Stone magazine complained about the quality of the recordings, bemoaning the snap, crackle and pop of undulating vinyl. But, it seems that these operational oddities will not turn consumers o the now appealingly retro format. Or perhaps it is more than aesthetics; in an era of increasingly sleek and perfected formats, something about the vinyl records very fallibility is appealing. In some ways, the imperfections of vinyl echo our own position in the digital age: eccentric and awed, but striving towards authenticity.

Photo: Dear Dakota / Flickr

2.1 million vinyl albums were sold in the U.S. and Canada in November last year. is is not an aberration; in 2006 to 2007, while CD sales decreased by 35 per cent, vinyl sales increased by 14 per cent.

According to Andrew Cuddihy, Managing Director of the Vinyl Factory, people who buy vinyl are collectors. DJs are just one subset of this group. Humans like to collect things because its enjoyable it