Vinyl is experiencing a huge comeback and no one can deny that we’ve been ready! If you’ve been paying attention, then you’ve probably seen headlines such as “vinyl overtakes CD sales for the first time since 1987,” and we expect to see this trend continue. Digital sales on music have waned and vinyl is seeing a resurgence. According to the Recording Industry Association of America’s (RIAA) annual revenue report, vinyl records outsold CDs in the US last year (2022) for the first time in 35 years, selling 41 million units against 33 million for CD. We’ve seen similar reports from The Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) - using UK data - and reports from Germany, Japan, and South Korea.
What is driving this vinyl renaissance? Many music aficionados claim the format provides a warmer, more authentic sound compared to digital, and we agree. We also have read that nostalgia plays a large role in this revival, although younger generations have been driving a lot of sales, too. They praise the format’s tangibility and artwork. And yes, Taylor Swift was the highest-selling artist last year, selling 1.7 million vinyl records, but whether or not you attribute this momentum to a specific artist or not, it’s clear that there is a massive demand for vinyl.
Along with that demand, we are also seeing audiences and fans wanting to experience live DJ sets more and more, and true displays of analog skills. People are going crazy over actual disc jockeying vs. the “laptop DJs” that emerged out of the EDM bubble these last couple of decades. People want to see real, raw beat-matching and key-matching vs. syncing. They want to see more DJs choose their records and play them live, instead of the general focus on pre-selected digital tracks and sets. Being a selector is a rare talent that has been making its way back to the forefront of people’s minds and House Cleaning Records (HCR) has been focused on this niche talent for 20+ years.
HCR was founded in February, 2021, and already we’ve thrown XX events (both self-operated and collaborations); most of those featuring vinyl DJ sets. We’ve also started a series called ANALOG TWELVE™in which we feature the analog and wax talents of local, domestic, and international DJs. We are super pumped to be playing such an important role in keeping this history of music alive, while also driving it forward into the future. You should definitely check it out with us at our next event! To find out more about our events first, visit our events page and sign up for the newsletter.
Whether or not you like the satisfying hum of the needle as the groove spins beneath it, or just being able to hear the crackle in the track, we’re right there with you and appreciate it all. This once-dominant music-playing format gives us all the tingles from our heads to our toes to help us out there on the dance floor!
