Vinyl is making a comeback in the streaming age

Listening to music in analog format offers the listener a more organic experience. It is more enjoyable for music lovers, but not for those who don't know what it means to feel the interpretation and the sounds emanating directly from the instruments. This, according to experts, is one of the reasons why music in vinyl format, also known as records, has come back into fashion. Many young and established artists have chosen to leave a legacy in this format, allowing new generations to discover formats they have never experienced before, such as 78, 33, or 45 revolutions per minute records. The recording of audio in physical format began in 1887 when Thomas Alva Edison advanced the phonograph. Years later, the German-American engineer Emile Berliner introduced the gramophone and the flat record, creating the "pasta record" and setting a milestone in the history of the music industry

The format and its beginnings

In their experimental phase, gramophone records spun at a standard speed of 78 revolutions per minute and had a playing time of three to five minutes per side. The recordings were acoustic, without microphones, and entirely monophonic. Over time, the format evolved. From 1890 onward, a burgeoning industry emerged, featuring recordings of military bands, artists, monologues, and folk songs. It wasn't until 1902 that the Italian tenor Enrico Caruso recorded a series of arias on 78 rpm records in Milan under the label His Master's Voice. This achievement made him the first artist to establish a worldwide brand with gramophone records, selling millions of copies and transforming sound recording into a profitable cultural business.

Between 1905 and 1930, record labels like Victor Talking Machine, Columbia Records, and Odeon Records emerged, recording opera, jazz, classical music, boleros, and tango. Their influence extended as far as Latin America and helped create an artistic legacy of enormous historical value. “Holding the recording in your hands, seeing the cover, the credits, and the dedications, creates a more human experience. Streaming doesn’t offer that,” explains Penbiang Sang, director of Retro Jazz.

From pasta record to vinyl record

The 78 rpm format evolved into the 33 rpm vinyl record and the 45 rpm single, which offered better sound quality and a longer lifespan. These advancements marked the commercial demise of the pasta record by the end of the 1950s. As vinyl established itself as a global standard in the 1950s, it also arrived in the Dominican Republic. Pioneering labels like La Voz Dominicana began pressing records that popularized merengue and other local musical genres beyond the island, creating an invaluable sound archive of Dominican musical culture.

The formats that replaced the vinyl record

Over time, the vinyl record was superseded by new technologies: the eight-track cassette, the cassette tape, and later the CD. In the 1990s, the rise of MP3 and later streaming led to the dematerialization of music and a drastic decline in the consumption of physical media. Despite these changes, the vinyl record has re-emerged as a popular format due to its sound quality and tangible value. While streaming offers immediacy and convenience, listening to a vinyl record remains a ritual. In the Dominican Republic and throughout the Caribbean, this resurgence has led to the rediscovery of historic recordings and the preservation of a vital part of the musical heritage.

The return of the vinyl record and the discreet comeback of the cassette.

Since the mid-2010s, vinyl records have experienced sustained growth worldwide. To a lesser extent, a resurgence of the cassette tape can also be observed, driven by national and international artists. It's worth noting that the Japanese market, for example, never abandoned vinyl and remains a leader in this segment, spearheaded by key figures in the music industry, as it is an integral part of their musical culture. The appreciation of the physical in an era dominated by digital technology, aesthetics, the listening experience, and cross-generational nostalgia is one of the main reasons for its repositioning. Generation Z saw their parents consuming vinyl and discovered that it offers a different way of listening to music, one that is more faithful to the original than a compressed MP3 file.

Today, thanks to emerging labels and major corporations, vinyl sales surpass those of CDs. While the cassette tape remains somewhat experimental, it still maintains an active niche. The record defined sound, the vinyl record perfected it, the cassette made it portable, the CD digitized it, and the MP3 file dematerialized it. However, the dominance of streaming hasn't displaced the vinyl record; rather, it has transformed it back into a ritual.

Source: https://latina-press.com/news/341499-vinyl-erlebt-im-streaming-zeitalter-ein-comeback/

 

I think more than a comeback, vinyl is the only physical medium which survived the digital transition. It never disappeared, especially in the club scene.

 

Interesting, but... BS.

I still have to get rid of my ~250 remaining vinyls.
Cassettes? Please piss off, worse audio support, even compared to the older 8track cartridge. I still have packed new ones.
Then what about a comeback of laquer gramophone records?

I understand there are so called audiophiles or collectors who believe that vinyl and tape are better than any modern audio support and they are faithful to that line, it's fine.

But the comeback?
Beside my oppressing nostalgy I'm happy to have left behind all this stuff.
Scratches, noise, hiss, crackles, rumbles. Piss off, its 'over.

Comeback is just for gen z spoiled brats.

Higly debatable. Dynamics? At which bitrate?
What about flac?
Enough to start another war, like if they are not enough.

 

Last edited: Feb 9, 2026 at 10:14 AM

Stop posoning yourselfs with vynils

 

"Revelation" – Contamination from LP Inner Sleeves

We repeatedly receive records with contamination on the vinyl surface, clearly caused by emissions from the plastic-lined inner sleeves of the LPs. We see this damage more frequently with older sleeves, especially those made of PVC (where plasticizers from the phthalate group diffuse out) or sleeves of unclear composition. We can remove most of this contamination – however, due to the variety of plastics used in the past, a residual risk remains. Storing records in modern inner sleeves with antistatic plastic lining eliminates such damage.

Source: https://sonicvinyl.de/enthuellung-verunreinigungen-durch-lp-inenhuellen/

Replace the PVC sleeves with paper sleeves and dispose of them.

 

as a big vinyl collector this was terrifying, but afterwards there was a load of discussions on forums from people working in the pollutants industry, with plastics, and chemists familiar with plastics in the human body (some saying breathing some off gassing is way lower than daily absorption living in a city), and many agreed his testing methods and hypothesis needed a lot more work to be remotely definitive or even accurate. No one followed up on his investigation, or reported the appropriate illnesses working in record shops etc.

But just to be sure don't live with my vinyl anymore, its in the garage, eventually id like a specific ventilated space/room for it.

I used to live closely with my vinyl (6000 at peak, now 2000 ish) everywhere, and the one place when it was close to my bed, i had the weirdest painful sinus issue appear, and then go when i moved. Many of my DJ friends all lived with huge amounts of vinyl for years, and no one else reported such symptoms ever.

Probably coincidence in my case.

 

Last edited: Feb 9, 2026 at 11:51 AM

But i can vouch that vinyl under the influence of certain substances is far more pleasurable than an MP3 using a bitrate under 320 - they sound thin and 'plastic'. BUT a lot of my vinyl is cut by famous engineers in the 90's who liberally punched up and warmed that pressing.

 

It depends primarily on the overall level of air pollution. If you live on a busy street or near a coal-fired power plant emitting particulate matter, the strain your body and immune system have to cope with will be greater. Furthermore, if you feel unwell, you should try to consult a building biologist or send samples from your carpet, for example, to a laboratory to test the emissions. Regularly ventilating your home reduces indoor air pollution, and vacuuming frequently is also important.

 

I MIGHT move the sleeves back into house and special few rarities, and just store away the rest of the vinyl, because im happy to listen to a lossless digital version, its the sleeves i love most.

 

they usually sounded better than vinyl rips to mp3 due to the gear used, and lossy compression. I think that's why people may still say it "sounds better". In that scenario it almost always did. The vinyl is higher fidelity than a rip.

But we hear vinyl is making a comeback every 5 years or so. It's almost as bad as linux for audio production.

 

My kid had 4 when this video came out, he like a lot to be with me on the studio so I sold/give away my all my vinyls afterwards to be sure as well.

 

What's the goal of streaming digitally something that was recorded analog? Sounds better?

 

convenience and ownership.

 

My opinion is the only reason vinyl sounds warm is the frequency drop off is gradual where digital it is a straight line down like a cliff.

 

The only issue that existed before still does. Guaranteed degradation of the LP over multiple plays.

A REGA Planar 3 turntable is still available at more than it was last century at around $2,000.

 

<Throws handgrenade into the conversation> Most people can't tell the difference between vinyl records and digital in blind tests. </handgrenade> <runs for cover>

 

Comeback, well sure it's increasing in popularity - slowly - but it's not going to take over streaming

Secondly... It's a really, really poor medium for conserving your most treasured music. As it gets worn, literally, by each use. Not much each time, no, but you keep that in mind and enjoy your fav music. If you can? ;)

 

So that's why we all have microplastics in our ballz?

 

I started collecting vinyl to DJ long before mp3's existed and slowed down to almost nothing once lossless formats became common. DJing with synced audio files is much more preferable TO ME. But vinyl makes music feel for more valuable and special.

I think the whole 'better format' is entirely personal because most of the debate isn't about technical specs. It's your playback equipment, who mixed that release, who mastered the vinyl, your appreciation of analog imperfection, the tactile and visual aspect of the experience, your personal history with a format, your storage space, your creative needs, and your budget.

All shape your perspective, and nearly all are just your 'taste' and choices. I cant see how there is a right answer.

 

Last edited: Feb 9, 2026 at 2:03 PM