Victorious Vinyl: What “New Vintage” Is Doing for Music
Trends often come and go and then come back again. Unexpectedly, vinyl records are going through this phase right now. Check out today's article to see how this phenomenon is happening and what it means for the music industry as a whole.
The music industry has gone through different stages of consumption over the years. 8-Tracks gave way to cassette tapes. Cassette tapes were seen as old relics when CD's came onto the scene. Then the death of the CD came when we found out we could get everything in a compressed MP3 file. Now, it seems we are going back to our musical roots with the recent rise in vinyl record sales. In today's article, Emma Sturgis shares how vinyl records are impacting the music industry.
Vinyl records, as Sturgis points out, are the beginning of a wave of embracing "vintage" aspects of music that were neglected in the digital age. Instead of straight-forward pop hits, we are favoring songs that have more rootsy and older elements. Even in our technology, we look for vintage elements by covering our phones to look older. What do you think? Are we trading in our digital culture to get back to our musical basics? Check out Emma Sturgis' article on MusicThinkTank.com and let us know what you think.
While the focus on “fringe” instruments brought about by the vintage trend could be a transient phenomenon, it could also mean the preservation of instruments which have fallen from grace in popular music. The Kongos’ Come With Me Now, for instance, brought an accordion-centric composition to the #1 spot on charts worldwide. The polkaesque melody throughout the alternative rock group’s unchallenging single is now recognized by people everywhere, giving hope for the instrument’s future use in popular music.
