Vinyl Bay 777, Long Island’s music outlet, looks at why you should get the music lover in your life the gift of vinyl
With Christmas
less than a week away and Hanukkah almost over, the thought of finding the perfect
last minute gift can seem daunting. If you’re still looking for something to
get the music lover in your life, why not consider getting them the gift of
vinyl records.
It’s no surprise that vinyl has been making a resurgence
over the last decade. More and more people have been purchasing the analog
medium, making for its highest sales numbers since the 1980s. In 2016 alone, sales
went up nearly 26% from the previous year while other physical mediums, like
CDs, continued to lag. Even digital sales lagged for the first time last year.
Events like Record Store Day bring more awareness to the vinyl format, in turn
helping to create a new environment and audience for it.
So despite this newfound popularity, why should you get your
music-loving loved ones vinyl records for the holidays? There are a handful of
great reasons to do so. These reasons include selection, physicality, the
experience, community and self-expression.
Because of the recent popularity, many more artists are
putting their music on vinyl than they have in the last 25 years. Young music fans
just being introduced to new formats can find the latest album from Justin
Bieber, Selena
Gomez, Taylor
Swift or Ed Sheeran on vinyl. Bands from the 1990s and early 2000s, Like No
Doubt, the Beastie
Boys and Pearl
Jam are reissuing their albums and releasing them on vinyl for the first
time. That makes this a great time to introduce generations that didn’t grow up
with vinyl to the medium.
There is also a certain satisfaction in holding an album
physically in your hands that you don’t get when you purchase a download. It’s
hard to get attached to a digital file, something you cannot hold or see, and
completely eliminates the need for album art. With vinyl records, the art is
right there, a prominent part of the experience and something you can be proud
to own. You can pass down a record from person to person, whereas a digital
file you cannot.
Related is the experience you have when you play a vinyl
record. Listening to a record is an active form of entertainment. Most people
don’t simply put it on in the background and go into another room. You need to
put down the tone arm to play it and flip the record when side A is done. It
keeps you involved in the playing process. By giving someone a vinyl record,
you are just as much giving them an experience as you are a gift.
Music is extension of one’s own individuality and vinyl
records are a good way of addressing a loved one’s individual taste. It’s definitely
a more personal gift than just getting someone a gift card to download music. If
you get something from an artist that they like, it shows that you’ve taken the
time to get to know them and put some thought into a gift. Even a gift card for
their record shop shows that you at least know where they like to purchase
their music.
There are many reasons why vinyl records make great gifts. Between
the experience of holding and listening to vinyl, the individuality that it
compliments and the growing selection of titles being pressed, it’s no wonder
they have grown in popularity so much over the last 25 years. If you’re still wondering what to get the
music lover in your life, why not consider getting them the gift of vinyl this
holiday season.
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Find the perfect gift for the music lover in your life this
holiday season at Vinyl Bay 777, Long Island’s favorite new independent record
shop. We have thousands of titles to choose from in a variety of genres. Browse
our wide selection of new and used vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, music DVDs
and memorabilia in store at our Plainview location or online at
vinylbay777.com. Whether you’re looking to get them something new or one of the
classics, we have you covered. And with more titles being added to our
selection all the time, you never know what you might find at Vinyl Bay 777.
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