Record Store Day: Young music fans driving revival in vinyl LPs

More young music fans are buying the latest releases of records, sparking a boom in LP sales. In 2022, records surpassed his CDs for the first time in 35 years. UK Record Stores Ahead of His Day, the BBC asked a young record store regular why “old school” trumps downloads.

In the sea of ​​street vendors at the Chelmsford Record Fair, two teenagers prove vinyl records are more important than ever.

Will, 16, is a GCSE student and guitarist who wants to study music full time at the Colchester Institute.

He believes buying records is a better way to support artists than streaming or downloading music, revealing he inherited his record collection from his parents and grandparents. I am doing

“Vinyl is passed down through generations,” he says.

“It’s not just the music, it’s the memories that are inherited and the record tells a story.”

Will runs a second-hand record shop with Sam, an 18-year-old from Chelmsford who is a guitarist and singer who plays in a band called Alison.

Sam says record fairs are essential because new record LPs can be expensive for up-and-coming collectors.

“It’s hard to be a record collector now when you go to your local record store and find out the record is £40,” he says.

“That’s why these record fairs are important. It’s just getting cheaper.”

The pair work at Intense Records in Chelmsford. Intense Records is one of hundreds of independent music shops across the UK to participate in Record Store Day on April 22nd.

Established in 2007, this annual event has become one of the biggest events in the music calendar and often results in the highest annual sales for independent record shops.

Previous events have centered on gatherings and concerts, with long queues forming outside stores as fans rushed to purchase limited-edition releases.

“We’ve definitely seen a new generation of young music fans embrace records,” says Megan Page, Coordinator of Record Store Day UK.

“For superstar artists like Taylor Swift and The 1975, vinyl has become a very important part of their marketing campaigns.

“I think for a lot of young people growing up in this digital age, everything suddenly feels so small in their pockets and on their phones, but it’s an opportunity to really connect with something.”

Intense Records manager Jon Smith said DJs will be playing in front of large numbers of collectors.

He hopes many customers will get a bargain or snap a limited release for the day.

“We’ve been getting a lot of calls about Taylor Swift’s release,” he says.

“There will be a lot of people coming here early wanting to get it. It’s going to be busy.”

19-year-old Kasabian fan Geordie Breeze goes ‘crate digging’ in Norwich. It’s a vinyl hunter’s term for flipping through rows and racks of records in a record shop.

An environmental science student at Lancaster University says he already has “hundreds” of vinyl LPs.

“I think the sound quality is getting better, and I like to keep physical records,” he says.

For the first time in 35 years, vinyl sales will outstrip CD sales in 2022, according to figures from the UK recording industry.

Revenue from the record was £119.5m, £30m more than the CD.

Record fan Laura, 14, loves browsing record stores with her 61-year-old father, former DJ Tony Pratt.

“It’s really cool,” she says. “I love the covers and display them.”

Her younger sister Imogen Bradley, 23, a musician, focuses on the “old-school hip-hop” on records. She is a fan of British rapper MF Doom and American hip-hop collective Wu-Tang Clan.

“I prefer having a physical copy,” she says. “It’s also nice to put your favorite artist on the wall.”