Can Print Be The Next Vinyl?
from the it-would-take-work dept
One of the more interesting trends in the music world is the “return” of the vinyl LP. While sales of CD’s continue to fall in the face of digital downloads, vinyl LP sales continue to rise:
Consumers purchased 1.88 million new vinyl LPs in 2008, an 89 percent increase over 2007 and the highest sales volume recorded in the 17-year history of Nielsen SoundScan. Further, in good news for some physical retailers, two out of three vinyls LPs were purchased at independent record stores.
There are a number of reasons for this, but the most obvious is that the LP is a tangible object that can’t be easily reproduced and can only be shared through a physical, real-world exchange. For true fans, the LP is a sort of badge of fandom, proof of just how much you love the band. Compared to a digital download or a CD, the LP is a crafted thing, complete with large-scale artwork and often other inserts.
While it isn’t likely that LP sales will eclipse digital downloads anytime soon, it is also highly unlikely that the LP market will be undercut by piracy.
Could these same factors be a forecaster for the future of printed books and newspapers? It is hard to imagine that these items, so easily digitized, will be able to maintain their current position on top of the mountain and we are already seeing the rapid decline of the newspaper business.
In the cases of both newspapers and books, it might be that their only hope in surviving over the long-term is to invest in elements that can truly not be pirated. As Dave Eggers points out in a recent Salon interview:
I think newspapers shouldn’t try to compete directly with the Web, and should do what they can do better, which may be long-form journalism and using photos and art, and making connections with large-form graphics and really enhancing the tactile experience of paper. You know, including a full-color comic section, for example, which of course was standard in newspapers years ago, when you’d have a full broadsheet Winsor McCay comic. So we’ll have a big, full-color comic section, and we’re also trying to emphasize what younger readers are looking for, what directly appeals to them.
Now, I am not saying that comics section will save newspapers, but the point is to make the object something desirable to possess in physical form.
For the moment, we are going to see traditional publishers fight futilely to maintain the status quo but the ground is quickly falling away beneath them and it is going to take some innovative thinking about the value of printed matter to keep them in the game.
Crossposted from My Media Musings
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I own the "Necronomicon: The Best Weird Tales of H. P. Lovecraft", which I bought well after I owned most of the books contained within in digital form. This is largely as a show of being a fan (or pretentious) and partly because I simply like the feel of a hefty book (if it were actually leather bound I would have spent much more on it).
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I also have most of these books in digital form (being able to carry around half your library in your iPod Touch is incredibly convenient) but wouldn't give up my paper copies.
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CDs are dying because the attitude towards them is "buy a CD to get the music", which is horribly outdated.
Newspapers are dying for the same reason. They're considered a means for communicating information, and nothing more.
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CDs are dying because the attitude towards them is "buy a CD to get the music", which is horribly outdated.
Newspapers are dying for the same reason. They're considered a means for communicating information, and nothing more.
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A few reasons:
1st reason:
- I am a DJ, while most everything now-a-days is digital, often times I'll find one-of-a kind pressings that just are not online, anywhere. I have no problems picking up a few of these each month.
2nd reason:
- You already mentioned it but LP's are more collectors/prize additions to me. The Beastie Boys for example have been re-mastering old albums and selling them on very high quality 180g vinyl pressings. Typically the re-mastered album will include a big coffee table type booklet, 3 pieces of 180g vinyl (with the whole album on them), tons of art-work, fan art, stories, notes, and it also includes a digital download (DRM free) of the album + b-sides, remixes, and live versions of some songs. To me that's a pretty good value considering what I am getting.
Looking back I'm a little bummed I sold my vinyl collection back in the day. I kept some good stuff, but I should have kept it all.
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And That's OK
I've never really understood why so many people seem to have a hard time admitting that. As if though they're ashamed of it or something. Instead they go on and on with claims of how LPs are somehow higher fidelity, despite all the double blind listening tests that have proven otherwise. What's wrong with the truth? The real reasons are perfectly good all on their own.
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Re: And That's OK
I've never heard of anyone actually claiming that. I HAVE heard, however, of people saying that the LP "sounds better". This is not a claim of fidelity but a matter of aesthetics. These people are saying that they LIKE the way an LP sounds versus digital sound, DESPITE the actual difference in fidelity.
The two should not be confused.
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Then you've missed it I guess. But it certainly goes on.
I HAVE heard, however, of people saying that the LP "sounds better". This is not a claim of fidelity but a matter of aesthetics. These people are saying that they LIKE the way an LP sounds versus digital sound, DESPITE the actual difference in fidelity.
And yet, in double blind listening tests they are unable to tell the difference between an actual LP and a digital CD recording made from that very same LP. Funny, huh? So there's really no sound advantage to LPs considering that CDs can be made to sound just like them.
Even funnier, they'll go about how it is "impossible" for digital recording to capture the nuances of an analog performance the way an LP can, neglecting that their analog LPs were probably made from digital master tapes to begin with!
The two should not be confused.
Not doing so.
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I have also heard that interior decorators can order leather-bound books *by the foot* because they are such a useful tool for creating atmosphere.
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If I want to see a picture or read something a synthesized version is adequate I don't need the original form (hard copy vs digital)- some audiophiles (those that purchase vinyl) cannot, will not compromise. Sure 50 years from now it would be great to read an actual copy of Times the day Obama was elected or MJ died, but I'm not going to pay for it because all I want is information. It's far less subjective.
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Books n' stuff
Even after the advent of LCD screens and doing away with typical CRT screens, I get a headache if I read from a monitor for too long. Besides, I don't want to have to curl up in a comfy chair with my laptop; somehow it's just not the same as a book.
Newspapers, on the other hand, ARE good for something: packing material.
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Re: Books n' stuff
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well, maybe not Reference books... but, you know, generally speaking.
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I just can't see them catching on, either. If you're buying the vinyl, it's likely because of the cachet of owning something on vinyl--which you just wouldn't get with a "burned" copy.
The same thing could easily apply to CDs, but for the fact that I have never seen one of my friends actually carrying a legitimate CD. They own the legitimate CDs, but the things they play in their cars are the mix CDs derived from the originals.
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Yeah.....
Hear something you've been missing......
It's a niche almost, I'd gander, with head shops and the like as well, and the increase of MJ use and legalization in area's, it's no wonder record sales are off the charts.
Hey I like the warmth also, but cmon man, times have changed. You need some dope equipment to have satisfaction to play with that plastic almost in a way.
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In terms of vinyl sound quality, I have heard the arguments about superior sound from vinyl. I think the argument is that CDs use digital sampling so you're not getting the full shape of the sound wave whereas records give you the whole wave. However, as was pointed out, the ear cannot detect the difference. In reality, you get pops and other defects with records, but some people prefer the "warmer" sound.
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It is worthwhile, to me, to own well-bound hardcovers, either of interesting new printings or well-preserved classics. This tangible, physical good has a greater value then the plain printed (well, scanned and lcd displayed) word.
So, if content-owning companies can keep from tripping over themselves, I look forward to our future with well-printed newpaper comics and well-bound books as a bit of a luxury item, produced for the masses who desire a little more.
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I think books will be around for a long time. I don't own a kindle and don't think I would ever read a book online. Paperbacks are cheap and I don't mind splurging on hardcovers from my favorite author.
The trouble is more with newspapers and magazines. Covering current news a day or week late isn't going to work considering all of the options online. People will still want souvenir newspapers for big events, but I don't think people will ever have an interest in archiving daily newspapers. Prediction: Good quality magazines covering non-time sensitive topics will survive.
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If anything, they should enhance the quality of the paper to make it better at receiving bird droppings or soaking water or something.
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there's also the hassle factor. while just downloading and playing music is a lot less of a pain than buying it and dealing with format issues and DRM and 'whole album for one song' and over pricing and blah blah blah, for books, the vast majority of the time, getting, owning, and reading the physical hard copy is Much less hassle than dealing with the digital equivalent.
this is especially the case with long texts.
the internet is Ideal for serializing stories, though. witness the more story orientated webcomics which do full pages rather than strips. or the way fanfiction.net is setup [err, allowing for the fact that maybe half the content is utter drivel no matter how you look at it, anyway. hehe]. it also works great for magazines and such [witness the Grantville Gazette that Bane Books puts out. it's doing ridiculously well, apparently.]
and yet i still buy novels. paper back, admittedly, due to shelf space and budget limits, but i buy them. i read scanlated manga all the time, but if a series is any good, and actually available in English from volume 1, I'll buy it. [if it's NOT any good i tend to give up on the scanlated version within a couple of chapters anyway :D]
actually... for all i don't buy much music, somehow the idea of owning actual vinyl records appeals more than CDs. partially because the CDs are so mundane, partially due to good memories of my grandparent's old records when i was a kid. heh.
books really do do something to the atmosphere of a space, too, it's true. even paperbacks. i have a shelf full of dvds... and it's just a shell full of Stuff, like my one full of TCG cards, or the one full of wargaming models, or cloaths... but the shelves full of Books actually change the space somehow.
i think there's a psychological aspect to 'em or something, i doubt books are ever going to go away. they Might, but it's rather unlikely unless we start running out of paper or ink, i would think.
newspapers... are a completely different story. as people have said, buy, read, chuck. no different than a phonebook, just smaller and obsolete sooner. magazines get a Bit more love, but if they get collected, it's for the information there in, pure and simple.
humm... i'm sure i had a point at the beginning here, probably several. ehh, they're in there somewhere. heh.
i mean, i always have a point or three when i Start... it's the end that's questionable :D
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LPs were great...
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YOUNG READERS USE THE INTERNET!
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Vinyl
The other reason has really only come up in the last few years. I was a member of Oink, and am now a member of What, so I download a TON of music just to check it out. When I find a band I really like, it doesn't feel fair that I'm enjoying what they do free of charge, so I'll buy a ticket to a show and/or a t-shirt and/or an album. But if I'm buying an album I already have the music to, all I'm really doing is making a purchase to have the physical album. A lot of the time, I'll buy the CD so I can make digital backups more easily, but if What already has V0 and FLAC and I'm not worried about it, I'll buy the vinyl because a) it adds to my collection, and b) if I'm pretty much just buying it for the lyric sheet and whatever else is in the insert, why not have it 12" wide instead of 5?
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