Why Vinyl’s Still Alive

The introduction of the CD and of digital music was the end of vinyl for most people. But it wasn’t the end of vinyl altogether. Though it still only accounts for less than one percent of total music sales, there are still a select few who continue to stay loyal. These days, vinyl may not be the main media form for new music, but it still holds significance—whether it’s a keepsake, a physical representation, or a better sound—to many music lovers today.



It probably won’t ever return to its previous glory, though sales have been steadily growing in past years.. The records are fragile—they can break and be scratched, and they take up more space in an era where smaller is better.



In an interview with NPR, Andres Santo Domingo, who is a co-founder of the independent label Mexican Summer said, “Vinyl is definitely growing, and will continue to grow. But I think there’s a ceiling. I don’t think it’ll ever become the prevalent format. I think it’d be crazy to think that.” Mexican Summer is vinyl-only and a sister-label to Kemado Records, Santo Domingo’s other record label.

Andres Santo Domingo at Kemado Records' new location

Another reason vinyl will probably never return to its former glory is because of the complex process that goes into creating it, and the fact that consumers can’t do it right from home. In New York City, there used to be as many as 50 pressing plants; now there are three. The machines used to produce vinyl records aren’t even made anymore, so that makes upkeep very difficult and expensive.



It takes one machine about thirty seconds to make a single record. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) gets melted down from pellet form into a shape similar to a puck. It then gets heated by steam and pressed by molds with the specific ridges for the A and B sides of each record. Next, cold water cools the record, it gets pulled from the mold and trimmed, and the next record gets started.

Part of the process of making colored speciality vinyl is taking pellets of polyvinyl chloride and melting them into the standard soft puck shape of an unpressed record

And though it is just a tiny speck of the music industry today, vinyl seems to be holding steady for now. Jenn Wasner, who is the singer for Wye Oak is a lover of vinyl. The duo is about to have their third album released in LP format, something they’ve been asking their label to do for a long time.



“It looks better,” she says of vinyl. “It sounds better. You can hold it in your hand. It’s a keepsake that you can hold in your hand and treasure for years.”