The vinyl market
Modern artists like Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Dua Lipa and Justin Bieber are releasing music on a wide variety of platforms. Each platform is unique and serves its own purpose in the world of music. Vinyl records are one of these forms of media and are growing more popular. The vinyl records of today are not the same records your parents were listening to. These records are made for younger generations.
This begs the question, why is vinyl growing in popularity?
“There is a market for the product and they need the money,” U.K. audiophile Neil Ramsden said. “Musicians express their thoughts and feelings through composition. Albums provide an excellent vehicle for such emanations, trendy or not.”
Music in media
At the time when vinyl was at its peak, there were many bands producing music that are still well known, like The Beatles, Electric Light Orchestra and Pink Floyd. You might not know these bands by name, but it's possible you have heard their music. Songs from all of these bands are used in commercials, movies and TV shows. Pink Floyd songs were referenced in the television series Doctor Who and In the popular movie’s Doctor Strange and Eternals. Electric Light Orchestra was used in the movie Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2.
Supertramp was one of many bands that used vinyl to tell a greater story. National companies have used popular Supertramp songs to promote their products. “Give a Little Bit,” “Dreamer,” “The Logical Song” and “Take the Long Way Home” have all been very popular choices. The hit TV show The Office, even uses a parody on one of Supertramp's greatest hits, “Goodbye Stranger.”
But, what all these bands have in common, is the ability to tell stories. They all also reached their peak popularity when LPs (12-inch records)* were the primary way of listening to music. Bands from this era are popular today, through the use of their music in other sources of media and advertising. This has lead to an increase in the popularity of vinyl as listeners are driven to purchase physical copies of the albums they love. While a digital release is convenient and entertaining, it is just one song. An artist may have intended for you to hear more than just a popular tune and many consumers have been picking up on this recently.
*There are different record formats such as:
- Vinyl LP - Stands for “long play,” it is the iconic ‘12 record (33.3 RPM).
- Vinyl 78’s - Older form of record, a more coarse groove and requires a different needle (78 RPM).
- Vinyl 45’s - A smaller analog recording for single songs (45 RPM).
Telling the stories of vinyl through Supertramp
Though storytelling is spread across many other platforms, vinyl gives listeners the chance to hear an album in the order the songs are listed. Supertramp is a great example of why vinyl is a vital vehicle for telling stories through music.
Supertramp’s albums are arranged in such a way it reflects that period of time they were written in. The albums and songs are inspired by the era's current events. Supertramp’s Crime of the Century* album was a collaboration of five musicians* who had different musical backgrounds that came together to create something worthwhile.
“We seemed to work together really well,” John Helliwell, the saxophonist of Supertramp said. “And so what we all did was make one final effort to make something really good. We got good backing from the record company and made Crime of the Century. It turned out to be a real solid piece of work. Then everything kind of continued to progress from there. That was a new version of Supertramp that really worked and really could say something.”
SUPERTRAMP (LEFT): The new members (left to right) consisted of Bob Siebenberg (drums), Rick Davies (keys and lead vocals), Roger Hodgson (guitar and lead vocals), John Helliwell (saxophone, background vocals) and Dougie Thomson (bass guitar). (Photo by Mike Baldus)
*Crime of the Century, released in 1974, was the band's first big album after the personnel change from the original members in 1969.
"The beauty about Crime of the Century itself is that people had their own versions in their mind of what it was." - John Helliwell
Helliwell helps us better understand the importance of storytelling when it comes to music.
“Many people think that Crime of the Century is a concept album*,” Helliwell said. “The album deals with growing up, schooling and people trying to tell you what you should think. It's all bound up in the lives of the two songwriters, how they were brought up and where they went to school. Neither of them was particularly enamored of school. Neither went to a university. They both got out as soon as they could because they were kind of frustrated artists.”
This is a prime example of how albums can go deeper into the life of the artists, by exploring memories and thoughts that are converted into music. Albums often make a point of what artists want to write about.
VINTAGE VINYL (RIGHT): Crime of the Century is propped up against a wall. (Photo by Mike Baldus)
“Then the album ends up with what Rick Davies wrote,” Helliwell continued. “'Crime of the Century,' which… when you listen to this track… you can kind of put your own take on what you think. ‘Who are these men, of lust and greed and glory?’ It is about the state of the world really, and that, is usually people trying…to make money out of the misery of others, and that's the whole thing that is still going on. Now, that's my kind of take on it. The beauty about Crime of the Century itself is that people had their own versions in their mind of what it was.”
Crime of the Century is a prime example, but vinyl records in general allow listeners to hear the story they want. Many people have their own interpretations when listening to albums which they can relate to their own experiences.
*Concept album - an album where all the songs are aligned to tell a story
However, when someone only listens to one song, they could be listening to it out of context to what the artists originally intended. For example, “The Logical Song” compared to its album “Breakfast in America.”
“‘The Logical Song' is just an excerpt from something,” Helliwell said. “If you had a book, it's just a chapter. On an album, each of the little excerpts is a little work of art in itself. It's like a chapter of a book because it has a much greater relationship to the other pieces. With a concept album, that's a bit more like a book because there is a relationship in what you're trying to say over the entire album.”
“The Logical Song” is part of the album Breakfast in America released in 1979, it was one of Supertramp’s greatest hits. But this well-known song is just a chapter of a greater story. Such an idea is true for most popular songs, whether they came out in the '70s or last month.
“The difference between 'The Logical Song' and Breakfast in America is that Breakfast in America is a whole listening experience,'' Helliwell said. ”You can sit back and take 40 minutes. Hopefully, you will listen to it in the order in which it was presented. That's the thing that people don't really do nowadays, they've got used to playing ‘the best of’ or just selecting a few tracks. People nowadays are not used to sitting back and letting something flow over them. Which, if you can get into it, you can really enjoy it because it's like reading a good book. It's one whole experience that can take you up and down and make you think about things.”
RETRO RECORD (LEFT): Breakfast in America positioned on a piano. (Photo by Mike Baldus)
The user experience of vinyl
Superior user experience is one of the many perks of listening to vinyl. The ability to take an LP out of a sleeve and place it carefully on a turntable is something that no other platform can provide.
Although some might claim that placing the stylus and tonearm* onto the record before listening is tedious, it is time well spent for those who appreciate the value of music on vinyl. This is because it’s all about the critical listening experience.
You can think of this like a movie. You put the record on and you sit back and bask in the sound that flows over your ears and into your soul. With a record, there is a presence that adds depth to the experience. You can stream a movie on your phone, or you can go to the theater and watch it in a more immersive setting. The same idea can be applied to music.
*The stylus and tonearm are just two parts of a much more complicated machine, other parts to take note of include but are not limited to:
- Needle - commonly referred to as stylus, the needle is the literal diamond tip that touches the record. (conical and elliptical, elliptical is a higher quality performance)
- Stylus - holds the needle in place
- Cartridge - holds the stylus in place
- Headshell - holds the cartridge in place
- Tonearm - holds the headshell, and balances the weight of the needle on the record
“Another thing that vinyl is really good for is the artwork, You've got a 12-inch square to play with.” - John Helliwell
The artwork on an LP album cover often reflects the story told within and also promotes it. An album cover becomes an icon for the band. One of the most iconic examples of this is Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon or The Wall albums, another example of this would be The Beatles’ Abbey Road. Supertramp has the well-known Crime of the Century album cover.
Differentiating sound quality
Sound quality is another huge aspect of listening to music. The fact that vinyl provides Higher fidelity* to the listener is another reason it remains popular today.
A good sound system is one of the key factors that can determine your sound quality, as well as the platform of music you choose. Factors in the world of vinyl include; a good stylus, a clean record and a stable platform for your turntable. These three things can improve sound significantly. You can stream music to the same system and the music will sound strained, though it is more convenient.
“The best thing is sitting back in a chair and listening to vinyl,” Helliwell said. “The second best is listening to CDs, on the same system. And third best is when I'm sitting in front of the computer and I've got all my iTunes and music streaming stuff. But it doesn't have the overall impact that the vinyl versions have.”
*High Fidelity or Hi-fi - music with little interference or distortion in sound quality.
PUMPING AIR (LEFT): Vintage McIntosh speaker. (Photo by Mike Baldus)
Digitally streamed music is the most convenient and likely the most used platform of today. But, with that being said, vinyl still has the ultimate sound quality.
“Unless you've got a special system with your hi-fi to play vinyl, you are pretty much listening to digital*,” Helliwell said. “Compressed sounds odd, you can listen to a CD of course. That's probably the best on headphones. But it's all lesser than the ultimate. We can call vinyl the ultimate.”
The reason that vinyl has superior sound quality is that the music is pressed into the material polyvinyl chloride. A record is a physical file of music. 100% of the information exists on a record in the form of little grooves. Those grooves determine different sound waves.
When music is streamed, the file is compressed down so your smart device can store more information. A compressed audio file does not contain 100% of the original recording and it reduces the dynamic range of the music and lacks the original presence of the artist.
Some uncompressed digital music (CDs) have superior specs compared to vinyl records. There is a higher dynamic range and sounds cleaner to the listener, but lacks the warmth that you would get in a live recording. Vinyl records have all of the original musical flaws that the artist made when the recording happened. An example of this can be heard on vinyl where it is possible to notice an artist take a breath before they start singing, or turn a page of music. On a digitally remastered recording, you lose this presence.
“If you've got the best vinyl, a really good player*, a good system, a good amplifier and good speakers, then it can sound the best,” Helliwell said. “It's how we envisioned it to sound when we were making it.”
MARVALOUS MARANTZ (RIGHT): Vintage Marantz Audio System. (Photo by Mike Baldus)
*Digital music - CDs deliver sound digitally through laser pick up. CDs are uncompressed digital music. This means all the music is there. Digitally streamed music is compressed. This means a percentage of the sound is eliminated to enhance the speed of delivery, rather than sound quality.
*"player" refers to two main ways to play records, one stands out far more significantly in the world of audio:
- Turntable - A machine that plays vinyl records with higher quality sound. Does not include other parts of a sound system.
- Record Player - A machine that has the ability to play vinyl records. It also includes speakers as part of the design.
Artists and bands, like Supertramp, intend their music to be heard in a specific way. For instance, the company Beats by Dre created headphones specifically designed to enhance his music because people were not understanding the value of sound quality.
The same concept can be applied to the platform of music you are listening to. There is a wide variety of ways you can listen to music. Vinyl, CDs, cassettes and streaming. Though cassettes are a thing of the past, they were valued highly until CDs came out. Each platform sounds different and solves different problems relating to convenience and music.
As the convenience of music increased, sound quality decreased. Spotify is trying to combat this issue with lower compressed digitally streamed music. Out of all of these different ways to listen to music, two stand out: vinyl and streaming.
“Let's compare it to eating,” Helliwell said. “You can have McDonald's, and you can really enjoy it. It's just what it is [streaming]. Or, you can go to a restaurant with a three-star Michelin chef who could possibly cook up something that every time you take a bite you're amazed [Vinyl].”
Record recap
Sound quality is one of the most important variables while listening to an album. You can hear a wider soundscape which adds depth to the music and helps tell the story.
The art of storytelling is a skill that many musicians have. It takes great talent to create an album that has depth. Turntables and vinyl help make these stories real.
Most audio shops have turntables for sale and vinyl can be found at a wide variety of places like record stores and antique malls. You can settle for digitally streamed music, or you can get the most out of your favorite songs and albums with vinyl records.
“Vinyl is a niche market, but it's getting bigger, Helliwell said, “And that’s good because it's the best sound provider if you've got the proper equipment to play it. I think that artists are seeing that [there are] audio advantages. If someone is quite a big artist, it's a nice little sideline for them.”
Vinyl is a nostalgic experience for older generations and younger generations are still discovering its perks. Media and advertisements are contributing to the new generation becoming more interested in the music that was best produced on vinyl.
Though digital music is more convenient, it lacks sound quality, user interaction and the likelihood of listening to it in context. Listeners can take the song out of context by playing their favorite songs over and over again and missing the bigger story. The benefits of listening to music on vinyl make listening to an entire side of an album more enjoyable.
“The vinyl LP provides me with a greater level of musical enjoyment than any other method of playback I have yet encountered,” Ramsden said. “That, my young friend, is what vinyl is really all about!”
