Is vinyl dead? Is digital Djing finally taking over?

DJ Life & Community General Discussion
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41

True, and it will probably prevail as one.
The point is: DJing may as well be one such culture, but it is also a business. Most of all, the so called club culture is even more of a business. In businesses, numbers count more than culture. If you can make money based on a culture, it will work out. The sole reason why technics pulls out of turntable production is the fact that they can’t make considerable amounts of money from it anymore. So eventually turntables and vinyl will slowly lose their standing in club culture.

It is also a fact that electronic music in general has always been one of the main driving commercial forces that supported the vinyl subculture. DJs are those who supported electronic music by the medium of vinyl records for a very long time. But in most genres, they’re in the process of pulling out of that.
Most (not all) vinyl-only DJs I know stick with that medium because they have a huge collection of music. But they are in their mid to late 30s, and will probably disappear from the DJ scene at some point. The new generation grew up with ipods and hardly bothers about vinyl. Less support from DJs, less recognition from the audience, less sales, less releases and suitable hardware, less support from DJs - the circle is complete.

It won’t end today, it won’t end tomorrow, but it’s already happening.
For us DJs, vinyl will fade away at some point - at least for the non-turntablists, reggae enthusiasts etc. For the true vinyl junkie, it will survive for a very long time. But those people aren’t necessarily DJs.

42

i like this guy

43

funny, 'cause nobody likes me :smiley:

44

i do:stuck_out_tongue:

45

That genie has left the bottle. Sorry man, but you’re dreaming.

There are ballpark 36 vinyl pressing facilities worldwide. These are actual pressing facilities, not brokering houses. There used to be several hundred. Their profit is going away and they’re closing left and right. Not only that, but whenever you have a factory, you have tooling. Vinyl creation is a complicated mechanical process, and the companies that make tooling for these factories have died as well. That means that it’s MUCH more expensive for these factories replace broken or worn out tools. It’s more expensive to produce the vinyl itself as well.

Will it happen next year? No. But was that the original question? No.

It’s a culture TO YOU. Sure. But it’s a business to the companies that are involved in the industry. No business runs at a loss for long, and that’s exactly what’s happening here. And while we’re talking about culture, let me add this. It’s highly likely that I’ve been DJing for about as long as you’ve been alive. I started with vinyl and learned from a guy who was DJing disco when I was just 5. So I have a history with vinyl. But why does that mean I should struggle to embrace some outdated file format that has had it’s day? What we do is not IN ANY WAY about the media we use. The crowd doesn’t ooh and ahh because we put a record down. They react because of the SONGS WE PLAY, how we put them together, and how we take them on a journey.

Personally, I want to be involved in the NEXT control method, not try and hang on to the last one.

46

Vinyl is a niche market. It’s not dead, it’s actually growing:

http://mis-asia.com/news/articles/vinyl-record-sales-double-in-08,-cds-down
http://www.pcworld.com/article/156302/vinyl_revival_records_move_on_cds_in_2008.html
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/lifetravel/stories/DN-vinyl_0218gd.ART0.State.Edition1.4c0e303.html

47

I have to say that in this discussion, I completely lean on the side of nemonic here.

Business is as business does. There’s a reason a no good cracked VDJ DJ will get a gig over someone who can really rock a set with paid for gear. It’s about numbers. The same is with vinyl.

There will ALWAYS be vinyl in one form or another. Even if it’s just a couple places making it. Will the cost ever go down? No. If anything, it will go up, because it’s just business.

A “culture” can lead a business, for sure, but if it’s as big as vinyl, it needs more than just a subculture to make it affordable. Affordability and cost is the driving factor that’s going to be keeping people from purchasing vinyl, except for the avid enthusiasts.

As it was said before, many MANY of the big producers/DJ’s out there at the moment having been doing this for many years. They aren’t new to the game, and are going to stick with what they are familiar with. I’ll take example of Excision here, 21 (maybe 22 years old now). I know he spins on CDJ’s, because that’s what’s in the club now. He can rely on that being there, and with travel, he doesn’t have to lug around records. (He made a post about it somewhere, I’ll see if I can dig it up).

But I consider him one of the “next generation” of DJ’s/Producers that’s hitting it big. And he’s NOT using vinyl. Not because he doesn’t like it I’m sure, but because it’s just not honestly practical anymore when there are other options out there.

The business’s that make vinyl are coming to realize this, because even though there may be somewhat higher sales, the general public ARE NOT going out and buying vinyl. Most people getting into music at this point AREN’T going out and buying vinyl. It’s a LOT of money to get into, and for $20 a record, it’s an expensive habit to keep up.

I don’t own turntables at the moment. Would I like to? Of course. Even just for listening, there’s a few hard to find albums out that would be easier to FIND on vinyl compared to digital media. But just getting into it is fawking expensive, and so I haven’t yet. I have true respect for vinyl, many of my friends spin on vinyl or a DVS system. But that’s just it.

Even a lot of turntablists are switching over to DVS systems. Which are great, but also defeat the point of having records in general. When you don’t have records, you are losing sales to digital media once again. While they may be using TT’s, it’s a whole “ecosystem” if you will. TT’s, Records, and the mixers that bring them together.

New technology is changing things. That’s what it does. There will always be a place for vinyl, but it will never be the forefront like it used to be, because it’s just not honestly as practical as other forms of media at this point. The almighty $ rules the world (whatever currency you so choose) and the cheapest medium is going to be the strongest in the end.

Because like it or not, most people want to get the most for their money. If I can buy 10 tracks off beatport, or get 1 record with a couple tracks, maybe only one of which I really wanted, it’s almost a no brainer for me. And that’s what a lot of people are going through at this point in time.

No one is actively saying “KILL VINYL IT’S THE GODDAMN DEVIL!!11!!!” but it’s just part of business that it’s fading. I don’t know what else to say.

48

the only ones who let vinyl die are the DJs..! :wink: food for thought

49

Within the next 10 years there is going to be a missing letter in the D.V.S acronym.

50

Why is that food for thought? Give me one real reason why I should hang on to a dying music format. With digital media, I can carry all my music in a small portable drive, have another copy backed up in case of hardware failure, and access it using a number of different playback devices. Digital distribution means that artists can work outside of the major label system and bring me a wider variety of music than I’ve never had access to before. It also allows artists to self release - something not easily possible when you have to distribute physical media. With digital media, I can still access the music on the vinyl records in my collection WITHOUT subjecting them to damaging playback over and over again.

Please explain what’s so great about vinyl. It doesn’t offer better audio quality than even a typical MP3. It’s heavy and large. It loses quality on every single playback - even with high end needles that are set up properly. It’s prone to warping in moderate heat. It can easily be broken or scratched. It’s expensive. It can only be played back on one device, which is itself large, heavy, and prone to all kinds of incorrect setup.

Is there some real reason I should embrace vinyl (again)? Or is it just some romantic notion because someone watched Scratch or read about the 4 pillars of hip hop. Should I also be out tagging subway cars, or brushing the nap on my Pumas?

51

jesus, what is your problem? why can’t i have an opinion? i was in no way saying you were in the wrong.

if you like digital, so be it. some of us prefer vinyl. i don’t get what all the hostility is about..

one thing vinyl has (and always will have) over digital is appreciation by the DJ, i think. buying a cart full of tracks rather than a couple of records, it’s changed the way people select, and therefore play music. i believe this has led to people spending less time thinking about the music they play, and therefore the end product is some good tunes surrounded by lesser quality ones. with the old model you get sets that are full of a DJs personal favorite tunes, or at least all quality tunes, because they didn’t buy them by the dozen. this is an art, after all, and i think vinyl helped keep it that way. if you’re spinning solely to make cash, cool, this doesn’t apply to you. i’m talking about people who see DJing as the art form it is.

edit: ps - you are quite the ignorant cunt for that last statement.

52

C’mon guys, calm down again. I mean, we’re all not that far apart, aren’t we?

53

Let me help you with this whole internet thing. Just because someone disagrees with you doesn’t mean you can’t have an opinion. If you’re that thin-skinned, this might not be the playground for you. You come into this thread implying that we should embrace vinyl, but you’re backing up your argument with romantic notions instead of facts. I’m just asking you to be specific.

No one is being hostile except you with your last post. If you think someone who disagrees with you is being hostile, I weep for your future.

I don’t know. I can say that I spend much more time looking for new music now that I ever did when I was actively buying vinyl. I can listen to more tracks, because I don’t have to worry about things being sold out or unavailable. And if I like a track, I can dump it in my cart and buy it at my leisure, knowing that it won’t go away. Plus between all the retailers out there I have a pretty massive listening booth.

But with all the availability, I don’t think that DJs are just clicking BUY because tracks are available to them. They’re still picking music because they like it and can use it in their sets. But with digital, I think they are also more likely to take chances, since more is available to them. I also see regional genres blow up faster than ever before because music distribution is more global than it has been in the past.

I don’t see how that plays a part at all in this conversation. Are you implying that the mere fact that music is pressed on a vinyl platter somehow makes it art, but that same music in a digital form is somehow diminished to a kind of money grab by the DJ spinning it? I (again) don’t see your logic.

54

all good, i’m just gonna drop this one. not worth my time :slight_smile:

this forum used to be filled with cool level-headed people

55

Is vinyl dead? As we have known it… Yes. But I will never stop trading dubplates!