Vinyl sales hit 6 year high - Could MP3s be responsible?

MP3s - they allow us easy access to music via downloads, the effortless sharing of music with our friends and the ability to listen to music on the go. It can honestly be said that they have revolutionised the music experience. The MP3 can take responsibility for the drop in album sales and music shop figures due to downloads but can the recent increase in vinyl record sales also be caused by the MP3? It may sound like backwards reasoning that the modern music medium is behind the reinstated popularity of the old, but it has to be said, MP3s really are not that good.

It is common knowledge that the MP3 has a low quality sound format. In order to make the files portable and easy to send the tracks are greatly compressed, which results in the change of aspects of the sound. Essentially this means that the rising and falling sound waves one would find from a vinyl record have been straightened out to more closely resemble a horizontal line, making everything an equal, and loud, volume. This results in the loss of depth and clarity in the music with no low end frequencies, creating a trebly sounding track. While this sounds fine on the low quality ear buds used by most to listen to their ipods, it gives a very dis-satisfying experience of music through good quality speakers.

For approximately the last twenty years record producers have been gradually increasing the loudness of CDs during the mastering process. One of the reasons for this is the belief that if the song is louder it will sound better on the radio and therefore will sell more copies. CDs are now produced already compressed in the same way that MP3s are. A 2009 study conducted by Stanford University academic Jonathan Berger revealed that those who had grown up downloading music with an ipod as their main music player actually prefer the thin sound of digital music to that of vinyl. Some believe this fact contributes to why CDs are given the same compression treatment as MP3s. This shows the negative side of the MP3 revolution; they are changing the way we hear music but not for the better.

While the use of large amounts of compression works well for some genres of music it is not suitable for all. It is unfortunate that the music of all big artists is being produced this way, leaving consumers unable to buy good quality recordings of new albums. So compare the tinny, limited sound of the MP3 and modern day CD to the warm, textured one of the LP and it is not surprising that consumers are being seduced by the MP3's forgotten vinyl ancestor.

Despite album sales being at an all time low and HMV experiencing an 8.1 percent drop in sales this christmas, the vinyl medium has been experiencing something of a rebirth. Data collected from the Official Charts Company shows that in the first ten months of 2011, 24,000 vinyl records were sold in the UK, a 40 percent increase of the pervious year. In the US vinyl sales were at 3.9 million compared with 2010's 2.8 million.

Could this boom in vinyl sales be attributed to their superior sound and listening experience? It may be the case that those who are old enough to remember and appreciate good quality sound before the Loudness War are purchasing records again in order to better fulfil their musical needs. Equally, the younger generation who have had romantic flirtations with vinyl may find that they prefer its warmth and depth, along with its crackle and hiss. And of course the customer gets more when buying a vinyl record. You get large artwork, the sleeve and liner notes as well as the music which you can hold in your hand. This is much more exciting than a download, an invisible file residing somewhere in your computers hard drive.

Artists too have realised this and have played an integral role in boosting record sales simply by putting out records which are exciting to own. Florence and the Machine released a 45 of their single “Shake It Out” with a sleeve design by Karl Lagerfeld and Radiohead released their “King Of Limbs” album as a bundle comprising of two 10” vinyls, a CD, extended liner notes in the form of a newspaper and all the necessary artwork to complete the package. Jack White's label Third Man Records has not only issued new editions of White Stripes' albums but has also released a glow-in-the-dark single by Carl Sagan and a scented vinyl album by model Karen Elson.

Radiohead's King Of Limbs newspaper edition

However, it would be naïve to think that this is the sole cause of the vinyl sales boom. The reason behind vinyls sudden revival could simply be that the record is currently in fashion as the latest in a long line of hip retro items to own. Fashionable clothing stores like Urban Outfitters are currently selling records and record players, causing them to become desirable again, a sought after and much needed accessory to any hipster's life.

Ultimately it is most likely that a combination of these reasons have contributed to the rise in record sales, particularly the exciting formats they take. After all you can't buy a glow-in-the-dark or scented MP3. With any luck the fashionable aspect will draw people in, only for them to find that they actually like the vinyl experience and so continue on buying it, creating a true vinyl come back.

With its shrinking of everything from album artwork to the sound files themselves, the digital era has not only caused the drop in CD sales but has played a part in the rise of vinyl. While we cannot categorically state that vinyl is making a come back, we can say it is going through something of a renaissance. I personally prefer the sound of a vinyl record to a CD and the excitement which comes with buying one; the large, beautifully designed artwork and the vast history of music which comes associated with it and I know I am not alone in this view. In the instance of digital music vs the vinyl record we can confidently say that the technology has progressed but not necessarily for the better.