Vinyl versus CD versus mp3

When I first started buying music in 1991, the record shops were still literally record shops. The CDs have been around for some years but there largely unpopular for two reasons. Firstly, most people lacked facilities to play them. CD players were still expensive for most people. Secondly, serious record collectors had amassed large amounts of records and were unwilling to switch to CDs. When CD players became inexpensive and companies released the entire back catalogues of popular artists under the 'nice price' scheme, many people switched to CDs. It was not uncommon for the mid 1990s for record stores to sell off their vinyl stock in incredible (for the times) low prices. Around the same time many collectors sold their vinyl collections in bulk and building them anew in CD format. That was medium revolution number one.

The second revolution came about in the late 1990s when CD-Rs replaced cassettes as recordable medium. Cassettes have been the most popular format for copying music from vinyl (and later CDs) for more than twenty years. In addition, they were very portable (playable in walkmans) and they have been instrumental in consolidating the mixtape culture among pop music enthusiasts. The record companies, however, became a bit worried when this second revolution came about. The fact that the copied product could sound (at least to the ears of the common folk) as good as the original from which it was copied, opened many possibilities for piracy.

When music lovers realized that computer geeks had something for them, the third revolution came about. Music from CDs could be transformed to digital formats (such as mp3) and, with the help of the internet thingy, shared over with people from around the world. Now that totally scared the record companies off. The fact that companies would not be able to convince tens of millions people to buy the latest CD from an artist of questionable quality they wanted to promote (strictly for money making reasons)... well that was not right! Even though that academic scholarship had dismissed the idea that the decline in CD sales was due to music-file sharing, the companies were unabatted. They decided that they prosecute every single person who shared their music over the internet. When the whole idea proved totally ludicrous, they calmed down and figured out the following:

1. Some people were willing to buy the latest music releases on mp3 format. Because mp3s are inexpensive to make (no factories needed to produce the discs and cover art) and trade (no shipping costs incur), they realized that the internet and mp3s was, potentially, a big money-making opportunity.

2. Additionally, the collectors were unwilling to invest on either the CD or digital format. They would still rather buy vinyl. Companies realized that collectors are a niche market, but a market nonetheless.

3. Mixtape enthusiasts were not happy with CD-Rs as a recordable format (the term mixCD never replaced mixtape). They nonetheless liked the fact that music-file sharing gave them access to much music and that they could share their 'tapes' over the internet. Some companies decided that they could even make money out of this... check this out: a ridiculously priced (£20!!!) 64MB USB stick in a cassette-like box.

The artists on the other hand were confused. What should they release their music in? Vinyl, CD, or mp3?

A. The big names/mainstream approach: Stick to the CD format and also make available the album as song per song download ($0.99 per song, thank you).

B. The not mainstream/independent label approach: give away the mp3s for free, ditch the CD format and go straight to release limited edition vinyls for the collectors.

The biggest name to do this so far has been Radiohead. Their latest album In rainbows was released as a free mp3 download (but you probably already know that). They also made a special limited boxset vinyl version of In rainbows available, priced at £40.

Some independent record companies (such as Kids Records) have their releases almost exclusively on vinyl, and when you buy the vinyl, you get the mp3s for free (my Assembly Now clear vinyl 7 inch with the piece of paper giving you instructions of how to claim your free mp3s pictured left). Its funny to see that the Kids Records latest release, a 7-inch vinyl single, is by a band of 13-year-olds whom I doubt they ever listened to a vinyl record before.

Nevertheless, giving away free mp3s means that artists get to promote themselves more efficiently. Artists discovered that their concert tickets and merchandise sales go up when they release their music for free. On the other hand, music lovers get access to much good music, quickly and without the mediation of big companies that could otherwise put restrictions on what 'should' be released. In fact there is so much good free music out there that I was able to put together a virtual mixtape of 16 songs with 60s retro feeling by 16 different new bands. All of the songs are available legally for free from the bands' or bands companies' websites. You can see the list of songs here or hear the whole tape by clicking the virtual tape below.