Forget about home theatre surround sound, iPod docking stations and the new-wave all-in-one music systems. It’s time to get ready for the next revolution, the return of the vinyl record – the favorite physical format of indie music collectors and audiophiles.

December 2008’s issue of Rolling Stone revealed vinyl sales are up 60 per cent from 2007 in the United States alone. Nielsen SoundScan reported 15 percent year-over-year growth in 2007 and 89 percent in 2008, making the 1.9 million vinyl albums purchased last year the most since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991.

This year is shaping up to be even better, with 670,000 vinyl albums sold through mid-April. Add that those figures are often times conservative, as many independent retailers do not report their sales to SoundScan; and more than two-thirds of vinyl albums are sold at indie operations. Patrick Amory,  of indie label Matador Records, claims, “We can’t keep up with the demand.”

By contrast, CD sales have fallen  20 percent  for the past few year as we all know…

Vinyl is cool again!  But for who?

It is evident that the phenomenon is affecting not only or primarily the technophobic middle-aged consumers, but also younger generations who are developing a taste for records. Albums ranking in the top 10 for 2008 included Radiohead’s In Rainbows at number one, Fleet Foxes’ self-titled release, Guns N’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy and the B-52s’ Funplex! Amazon biggest sellers for vinyls have been so far alternative rock, followed by classic rock albums.

Amazon had introduced a vinyl-only store as of October of last year, and increased its selection to 150,000 titles across 20 genres. In April of this year, BestBuy announced that it is planning to devote eight square feet of merchandising space in all of its 1,020 stores solely to vinyl, after a test in 100 of its stores around the country proved successful.

A digital download or stream is a “disposable” experience. A vinyl is a ritual, it’s a “collector’s” ritual. It nurtures a sense of belonging, of deeper connection to the music world. It’s like a blessing, an entitlement: I have this record, I own it, it’s Mine,therefore I am a Music Person (more than if i didn’t or if you don’t).  And showing it to your selected music-friends is part of this experience.

Vinyls as Robert Benson writes in his insighful post:

-have better quality sound

-satisfy the need of collectors

-make music a ritual, a “true” experience for the music lover

-often times come with perks as free downloads of the digital format. Indeed, labels like Matador Records have begun including coupons in record packaging that can be used to download digital versions of the album’s songs. According to Matador the coupons have been a big hit.

In the words of Refe Tuma at Creative Deconstruction: Digital files are nearly worthless as a product. You can’t see them or touch them. They are infinitely reproduce-able and instantly available. If over abundance commoditized a physical product, inite-ness devalues a virtual product completely. Vinyl on the other hand can’t be easily reproduced, and is a much more sensory medium.

Again the lesson seems to be that given a real Reason To Buy, users- even the kids so often blamed for “stealing” music, will do so.