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Neil Young: Vinyl Revival Is “A Fashion Statement”

One of the biggest stories in the music industry over the past few years has been the resurgence in vinyl, and 2014 saw one of the largest spikes in vinyl sales in years. However, don’t count Neil Young among the vinyl enthusiasts. In an interview with Southern California Public Radio’s The Frame (via Consequence Of Sound), Young took aim at the vinyl revival, calling it “a fashion statement.”

Young’s issue with the vinyl revival stems from the recent trend of vinyl releases for brand-new albums, which he says are a trick by record companies to get customers to buy CD-mastered albums on wax. “A lot of people that buy vinyl today don’t realize that they’re listening to CD masters on vinyl, and that’s because the record companies have figured out that people want vinyl,” Young said. “They’re only making CD masters in digital, so all the new products that come out on vinyl are actually CDs on vinyl.”

Young did have some nicer words for vinyl enthusiasts, saying that he hopes that people continue to enjoy vinyl. However, like many others, Young doesn’t think that the “convenience-driven” market would allow for a format as inconvenient as vinyl to dominate the industry again.

Fact Magazine did poke some holes into Young’s initial statement, saying that most new albums released on vinyl are, in fact, mastered for vinyl. However, they added that reissues–the largest  market for vinyl enthusiasts–tend to use digital remasters.

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1 Comment on Neil Young: Vinyl Revival Is “A Fashion Statement”

  1. What Neil actually said:
    …. “And they’re only making CD masters in digital, so all the new products that come out on vinyl are actually CDs on vinyl, which is really nothing but a fashion statement.”