Source: www.speakup.com.br
Language level: B1 LOWER INTERMEDIATE
The return of vinyl
Life isn’t easy for the music industry these days. Illegal downloads on the internet have destroyed CD sales and artist now depend primarily on concert tours for their income.
Yet there is one piece of good news: according to official figures from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, there is a significant increase in sales of vinyl records.
The “death of vinyl” was announced when CDs came along in the early 1980s. Yet “the vinyl revival” began a few years ago. The trend is believed to have originated with teenagers in New York. They followed in the footstep of dance DJs who preferred its warmer and richer sound. This also led to a boom in new generation turntables.
In 2009 the United States saw a vinyl sales increase of one million records. Today US vinyl sales were almost three million that year. In reality this accounted for less than one per cent of total music purchases, but it was still good news for the music industry.
In the same year 223.000 vinyl records were sold in the UK. To get an idea, the figure for 2001 was 180.000: the figure for 1979, vinyl’s peak year, was 89 million! Experts say that the 2009 figure could be higher because official statistics do not include sales from smaller records shops and albums sold at concerts.
The positive trend is also confirmed by the fact that major retailer HMV has increased its vinyl “floor space” by 50 per cent over the past two years.
As NIGEL House of Rough Trade explains, young listeners are attracted to vinyl because they love its tactile quality and because it represents a badge of honour, the ultimate proof of loyalty to their favourite artist. It shows that they are serious about music.”
INTERVIEW (audio available)
Standard: British accent
Speaker: Justin Ratcliffe
Language level: C1 ADVANCED.
ROUGH AND READY
With the advent of the CD, or “Compact Disc,” in 1980s, experts said that the “vinyl” gramophone record would die. And then, with the advent of the digital download, the “death of the CD” was also announced. And yet it is difficult to make predictions: today vinyl is enjoying a revival. Last year in the United States more than 2.8 million vinyl records were sold. It was the best result in 20 years, even if it is still a fraction of total music sales.
To find out more, we went to Rough Trade, Britain’s largest independent record shop. Nigel House is co-owner of “Rough Trade East” in London’s Brick Lane. He talked about the vinyl revival, as music played in the background.
Nigel House
(Standard British accent)
No, I think it’s a worldwide phenomenon. I think in America maybe CD sales are going down, but vinyl sales and download sales are going up, so sometimes like…there was an album out by Vampire Weekend last year and I think sometimes like 30 per cent of the sales were download and another 20 per cent were vinyl. And there’s a group called Fucked Up. Who (are) from America, and 50 per cent of their sales where from vinyl.
PERSONALITY
We then asked Nigel House about the reasons for the revival.
Nigel House
Well, I think it’s the complete antithesis of a download because, with a download, it’s great for some things, for a pop single or something, it’s great: click, buy, you’ve got it there and then, but the whole experience of going out and buying something going into a record shop and buying a record, it’s something that’ll live with you forever. I also think that when you get home and you put them on you shelves, or put them on the floor or whatever, when people come round to see you, or to come round for dinner or whatever, it’s part of your personality, it’s part of what you’re about is, you know, in your music collection, or your book collection. Now, that’s why I think there’s always going to be a room for physical product in this world of book and music.
And some musical genres are particular suited to vinyl:
Nigel House
I mean, some music just sounds better on vinyl! Reggae: you cannot listen to reggae on CD or download, you need those crackles, you need that feel of a Studio One record that is thick; thick vinyl, crackles all the way through, but it’s got that feel, you can almost be there in Jamaica!
THE “PUNK” ATTITUDE
Nigel House says that the American rock duo The White Stripes played an important role in the vinyl revival:
The White Stripes had a lot to do with it, they kind of got back to basics. I suppose, with their style or music and they did a lot of singles that were very collectible and they also did a free single with the New Musical Express this was about three - or four years ago – and that really kick-started the 7-inch market.
People want to do vinyl, groups want to do vinyl because it’s more authentic. I suppose, it’s less “corporate,” and it’s a bit more punk rock, I suppose. It doesn’t have to be punk rock music, but it’s got more attitude. Doing a vinyl pressing, it’s just a bit more “anti-corporate,” I suppose.
