As we close the page on 2010 and its miserable economy, there was one bright spot for music lovers: Â VINYL. That's right, vinyl. That analog medium that just won't die. Â According to Rolling Stone* vinyl sales were up in 2010. Â Â It seems over 2.8 million copies of records were sold in vinyl format. Â Â That's more copies than any year since SoundScan started tracking sales in 1991. On the mastering front, I've seen this trend first hand, with an increasing number of clients directing me to create masters for digital release and pre-masters for cutting houses. Â In December 2010, I finished five projects that were slated for dual-release as digital and vinyl products, bypassing the CD format altogether. Â Â And I'm reasonably sure most of the projects I'm working on a short run vinyl (e.g. runs less than 5,000 units), and presumably not included in the SoundScan numbers. For years we've been hearing claims from audiophile equipment vendors that vinyl was doing well. Â Â But I've always accepted those assertions with some reservation. Â Â After all, selling 2 records is a 100% increase if you only sold 1 the prior year! Â Â The question was always "what number" constituted "improved" sales? Now we know. Â And while 2.8 million is not Earth shattering, it can't be ignored. Â Â Some would call it impressive considering how hard it is to find a brick-and-mortar store that sells records. Â Â Lord, you can barely find a CD at Best Buy. Â You sure as heck can't find an LP! Â I don't want to get off on a rant, but I love how Best Buy now sells keyboards, guitars, and digital recording interfaces. Â Â They want you to record music, but don't want to help anyone sell music... but that's a blog for another day... Tape Op readers represent both big name artists (whatever that means in 2011) as well as independent and regional ones. Â Â So what are you seeing? Â Are bands you work with talking about vinyl? Â If so, how are they selling them? Â Pre-order? Consignment? Â With digital? Â Comment and share your thoughts and experiences. Â Â As for me, I'm off to buy more cleaning fluid for my Nitty Gritty Record Vacuum Cleaner - the best $500 you'll spend if you love vinyl. ( www. nittygrittyinc. com) *Rolling Stone. 3 February 2011. " 2010: YEAR IN REVIEW: Touring, Downloads Stall in Worst Year on Record. " By Steve Knopper, Contributing Editor. P. 17 - 18.
MORE ENTRIES

BLOG
Tunde Adebimpe: Thee Black Boltz
April 18, 2025
Ian Brennan interviewedTunde Adebimpe forTape Op#155, and he has just releasedThee Black Boltz, a beautifully conceived album full of interesting soni...

BLOG
New Bon Iver: SABLE fABLE
April 13, 2025
Listening toSABLE, fABLE, the new release from Bon Iver, it dawned on me that he and co-producer Jim-E Stack, have created a collection of songs that ...

BLOG
New Music from Dirty Projectors
April 4, 2025
We interviewed David Longstreth of the Dirty Projectors back in 2013 forTape Opissue #93. His new release,Songs of the Earth, is a return to a sound a...

BLOG
New Music From Tortoise
March 31, 2025
Members of Tortoise have graced the pages ofTape Opfor years. We interviewedJohn McEntirein 2001 for issue #23, and more recently we coveredJeff Parke...

BLOG
New Music From Lucy Dacus and Perfume Genius Produced By Blake Mills
March 30, 2025
We interviewed producer and guitarist Blake Mills inTape Op#115and for ourpodcastin 2019. He’s produced newly-released records for both Lucy Dacus –Fo...

BLOG
Fort George Brewery and Tape Op Overdub IPA
March 21, 2025
Brian Bovinizer is the Marketing and Sales Director at Fort George Brewery in Astoria, Oregon. Being aTape Opreader, some 11 years ago he spottedTape ...

BLOG
Mdou Moctar Releases Tears of Injustice
March 5, 2025
Released in 2024, Mdou Moctar'sFuneral for Justiceis a raucous, distorted guitar-driven album that, along with bands such as Tinariwen, turns the idea...

BLOG
Panda Bear Releases Sinister Grift
March 4, 2025
It's always a good day when I discover that there is new music from Panda Bear. It hits all the marks for me; nods to the classics, modern concepts, s...

BLOG
New Music From Rafiq Bhatia
February 25, 2025
We hadRafiq Bhatiaas a guest on ourDISCussion podcastin June of 2023. His new release, a collaboration with pianist Chris Pattishall,Each Dream, A Mel...