By nostalgia, for its sound or its aesthetics, vinyl continues to attract more and more music lovers. This is the case in the United States, where the disc has supplanted the CD and offers a “physical” alternative to all digital.
Beauty of the object for some, quality of sound for others: vinyl sales exceeded in 2022 – for the first time in 30 years – those of CDs in the United States. Guided by his passion in his store in Greenwich Village, New York, Jamal Alnasr is relishing this return to grace. “Who could have imagined that vinyl would come back to life?” smiles this 50-year-old man who, as a teenager, had left the West Bank to settle in New York.
In his store, the Village Revival Records, we can meet Vijay Damerla, 20 years old. The student concedes that he listens to music mostly online, but even though he doesn’t own a record player, he has started collecting vinyl records. “It’s the equivalent of an artist poster on your wall,” he explains, before adding: “Except in fact, it’s a bit of a relic of the past.” For Celine Court, 29 years old – and 250 vinyls at home – what matters most is a nostalgia for a warmer sound, which we wouldn’t find in digital listening. “It’s so different,” she says. “There’s this sense of authenticity that comes through.”
Metallica invests in its reissues
The return of vinyl is no longer a secret. But in 2022, their physical sales (41 million) exceeded those of CDs (33 million), for the first time since 1987, according to data released by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Superstores like Walmart have adopted this format and stars like Taylor Swift, Harry Styles or Billie Eilish keep pressing plants running at full speed.
Last week, the famous hard rock band Metallica acquired one of these manufacturers, Furnace Record Pressing, in order to satisfy the demand for its own reissues. For his part, Jamal Alnasr has a stock of around 200,000 vinyls, not to mention CDs, cassettes and souvenirs. “In the 1990s, when you were talking about vinyl, you weren’t very cool,” he laughs.
“I did that for 30 years”, and now “a new generation, kids, come to get all the music from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s”, he explains. “They know more than us, who grew up in the 1980s and 90s!” he laughs again. Jamal Alnasr sells both new and used vinyl. Because of the high cost of manufacturing and distributing vinyl, his margin on new items does not exceed 5% and he relies on original collectibles to make up the difference.
“Physical Experience”
In Greenwich Village, which has become one of the most expensive neighborhoods in New York, and where his monthly rent is $15,000, his business lives on a permanent tightrope. “Whenever I’m on the verge of sinking, I take everything I have personally and put it back into the business,” he says. “I think I love my business more than I love myself,” he adds.
For a ‘VIP’ – the record store has befriended stars like Lana Del Rey, Bella Hadid and Rosalia – Jamal Alnasr is ready to ship a record. But he prefers buyers to feel the “physical experience.” “I want people to come here and rummage through the bins and find out. They will see much more than the facade, there are many hidden gems here,” explains the enthusiast.
The sale of physical musical media remains a niche. According to the RIAA, viewing on paid and ad-supported platforms grew 7% to record revenue of $13.3 billion in 2022, or 84% of total revenue of the music industry in the United States. But for Celine Court, who hails from the Netherlands, streaming is “too fast, too easy”. “There is a better energy when you collect your vinyls, when you listen to them and are proud of them,” she explains.
