Quinn Pinto

Vinyls have been a medium for music consumption since the 1950s and have decreased in sales ever since the 1980s. But recently, the vinyl sales have risen once again through a newfound interest from Generation Z. This trend is seen by many as a positive development, to others though, it seems like another product being commercialized.

Eric Wilkinson, Wando’s choir director, Fine Arts Department chair and AP Music Theory teacher, experienced the development from vinyls to streamable music.

“I’ve seen students go from CDs (compact discs) to then streaming with eventually what became Apple Music,” Wilkinson said. “I started to notice a couple years back when… kids were getting into vinyls again… and spending money purchasing vinyls. So it’s like, okay, now we’re going back to this technology from like 40 years ago and teenagers are… doing that again.”

Wilkinson sees many advantages in streamable music.

“The older generation is listening to music with our children, like in the car and at home and you got your Amazon [Alexa]… you just have access to all of this music. So kids, teenagers… know… all these old tunes, ’80s rock songs, awesome ’90s tunes, all the greatest hits, because it’s so accessible. And that wasn’t the case early on in the 2000s… you had to really go get that music in order to consume [it],” Wilkinson said.

This new development of more music being put out changes the industry and the way artists make music overall. Sophomore Piper Firestone, who has a sizeable vinyl collection, is very interested in the topic.

“I think… there’s a lot of like, algorithm music… [and it] really reflects like, the way music has become, like, kind of less of an art form for some artists and… more of like, just a way to make money, especially for… big labels who… keep putting out like, variants and… deluxes,” Firestone said.

The experience of listening to an album online compared to a physical version differs greatly.

“I think [the] whole being able to tangibly have and physically hold the album and the album art and everything that goes with it, it does give you a certain feeling that is lost with just MP3s,” Wilkinson said.

But there is still an issue many find with more recent vinyl sales: a lot of artists have started releasing multiple versions of albums to increase sales. Many people do not choose one, but instead buy all, which exemplifies overconsumption.

“The way that they’re consumed right now… with… buying every version of an album, that … maybe you [haven’t] even heard yet,” Firestone said. “I think physical media in and of itself is a great thing, and I think we should be buying more of it than we are, but I think the way that we do it should probably shift a little bit.”

At the end of the day, though, the criticism might not be aimed at the artists.

“If we as a consumer are dumb enough to go buy all [versions]… then that’s… our own fault, I think,” Wilkinson said. “It’s a free market economy. You can go spend your money how you want.”

Afterall, the way we consume music is up to the individual, the important thing is that they enjoy it, whatever way they think is the right way.

“Enjoying music as a teenager… that’s such an important time to be able to… jam out to your own tunes,” Wilkinson said.