Sales of vinyl records scratching back

Despite innovation's best efforts, "true" music lovers are returning to the basics.

"It seems like you get more for your money with a record than with a dinky piece of plastic," said Randy Whipple, a resident of Salt Lake City who has been collecting vinyl records consistently since the 1970s. "Records are warm and pure, ears were made to listen to vinyl, to analog not digital."

Even as people scrapped vinyl when CDs hit the market, thinking the plastic platters were dinosaurs akin to 8-track tapes or casettes, Whipple kept on collecting.

Employees at record stores in Salt Lake City such as Randy's Records, Gray Whale and Slowtrain have seen an increased interest from customers in both new and used vinyl products. In recent years many labels and recording companies are again producing artists' work on vinyl along with more common formats such as compact discs and digital downloads in response to consumers' demands to have a needle feed the music to their speakers.

"Record companies are beginning to flood the market with re-releases and new pressings from artists," said Samuel Stinson, an employe at Randy's Records. "Vinyl is the only format things will sell on; people buy it because with digital downloads it (vinyl) is one of the only tangible materials people can still get."

Since the Recording Industry Association of America began tracking digital sales it is apparent where consumers are gravitating. In 2005 physical copies of music, opposed to digital, represented 91 percent of sales. In 2007 digital reduced that figure to 77 percent, according to year-end shipment statistics from RIAA.

Yet, as the sales of physical formats for musical consumption drop, one form is regaining its footing among listeners. Vinyl records have seen the rise and fall of 8-tracks, cassette tapes, and now, as CD sales slump, vinyl is continuing to spin.

The recording industry estimates that people over age 40 account for nearly half of all music purchases, yet Stinson has observed it is younger generations who are spurring the return of vinyl as a common medium.

"Young people have started buying records across the board," Stinson said. "It's the teens, 20-something's and 30-something's who are buying newer records."

Between 2006 and 2007, CD units, which account for more than 80 percent of the market, slipped by 17.5 percent. Vinyl records, which represent about 1 percent of the market, is the only physical mode to see growth since digital made its splash. Over the same time period, vinyl LP and EPs shipped to suppliers grew by 36.6 percent.

While Stinson doesn't believe record sales will make any significant impact on the market, the growth and interest generated by collectors over the years has been enough to sustain some record shops in the valley. Randy's Records has been operating in the same downtown location since 1979 when Randy Stinson — the store's namesake — first opened shop.

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