If you’ve walked into an Urban Outfitters in the past few years, chances are you’ve noticed its ever-growing vinyl section. What was once a limited collection squeezed into a small corner now takes up a whole wall, and features more contemporary music than classic vinyl albums. It’s hard to say whether Urban Outfitters — currently the largest non-online retailer of vinyl records in the United States — has spearheaded the resurgence of records that we’ve seen over the past few years or just capitalized on it. Either way, the resurgence of records over the past few years is undeniable, and has brought with it shifts not just in our economy, but in our culture as well.

In a number of ways, the vinyl revival makes sense in our current cultural context. Styles from the sixties and seventies have been dominating the runways for the past few seasons. Floral crop tops, flare jeans, even clogs are back; vintage band tees and Bowie memorabilia are widespread. It makes sense, then, that we would also embrace the original format of listening to these artists’ music. Moreover, thrift store culture has also reached a new height in the past year. In addition to being a great place to find mom jeans, thrift stores are also home to large collections of cheap records and cassette tapes. Though you won’t find any contemporary music in these collections, their low cost makes them a comparable alternative to CDs and mp3s.

The resurgence of records and tapes seems to be shaping the music industry on two levels. On one level, popular artists have begun releasing new music on records and cassette tapes. Because these formats offer artists protection from profit loss through streaming and piracy, they have become surprisingly profitable platforms for new music. On another level, the increasing popularity of older records is contributing to the creation of entirely new music. Modern producers and DJs sample older records and tapes in their music, a practice that has been bolstered by the widening availability and popularity of these records. The record format then, has simultaneously become both a vehicle for music distribution and a tool for music production.

In a sense, the revival can be seen as a direct reaction to streaming culture, which has been dominating the music world. Of course, there are downsides to this reaction. Some might argue that a return to tangible records and tapes is less democratic to listeners — it requires purchase to listen to music, as opposed to websites like Soundcloud and Spotify, which allow users to listen for free. On the other hand, the inability to download music at the push of a button forces us to establish communities with other fans, where music can be shared and listened to as a group. In this way, the return of tangible music platforms promotes social bonding, which is a good thing. 

The record/cassette revival offers a return to listening to music as a site-specific activity. Records cannot be listened to on the go, they demand our full attention. The act of purchasing a tangible object, bringing it home and listening to it in its entirety is a ritual that seems to be disappearing with the increased portability of music. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it inevitably detracts from our focus on the artistic quality of the music we listen to. Perhaps a return to listening to a record with our friends — or even a cassette tape on a road trip — will do our minds some good.

Email Mandy Freebairn at [email protected].