China joins trend for return to vinyl to enjoy records
Print Edition
Although vinyl records long ago lost their battle with cassettes, CDs and online downloads, fans of the retro music format are seeing signs of a comeback in China.
鈥淒uring the past year or two, more and more young people have come to my record store and listened to and talked about vinyl. I鈥檓 so happy to see the trend,鈥 said Jin Fangyong, 60, in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou.
Jin, who has a collection of nearly 100,000 records, has also noticed a resurgence of vinyl at domestic music shows in recent years, where nearly every record company has dedicated a booth to vinyl.
Industry insiders said the renewed interest in vinyl in China stems from its renaissance in Europe and America, which started years ago.
A Deloitte report predicted that this year vinyl sales would generate US$1billion globally for the first time this century, accounting for 6 percent of global music revenues.
In addition, new vinyl revenues are likely to see a seventh consecutive year of double-digit growth this year, with 40 million new records sold.
Domestic record manufacturer YongTong, based in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, has ridden the wave of vinyl鈥檚 surging popularity. The company opened a vinyl production line in 2015, the first since China鈥檚 last such line closed nearly 20 years ago.
Chen Yingming, general manager of the company, said the idea was inspired by his son, a die-hard music fan. Five years ago, the boy, 17 years old at the time, asked for a record player from his father.
鈥淚 was astonished. Where did he see vinyl?鈥 said Chen. He later learned that records had made a comeback abroad, and some of his son鈥檚 idols had even put out recordings on vinyl.
Chen鈥檚 team visited record factories in Europe and the United States in 2012, before spending more than two years manufacturing and improving the company鈥檚 first vinyl pressing machine.
Now YongTong has eight production lines, each able to press 800 records per day, supplying both domestic and foreign record companies.
Some domestic record companies, including China Record Corporation, have also considered opening vinyl production lines, after Japanese electronics and entertainment giant Sony announced a plan in June.
Prompted by the growing appetite for vinyl, record stores have emerged in major cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
鈥淕iven vinyl鈥檚 increasing popularity abroad, it is only a matter of time for China to embrace the renaissance,鈥 said Lin Hengmin, founder of Hym-originals, a company that has provided vinyl services to musicians since 2015.
Many aficionados are attracted to the sound quality of vinyl, which is warmer and more natural than modern formats.
鈥淚 can still remember the feeling when I first listened to music on a turntable as a teenager,鈥 Jin said. He believes vinyl is an art. 鈥淓verything about vinyl deserves appreciation: the covers, photographs, packaging, and signature.鈥
Some young people have turned to vinyl to seek a long-lost 鈥渟ense of ritual鈥 in this fast-paced era, Lin said. 鈥淲hen playing records, you must manually change songs on the turntable. It鈥檚 a more interactive way to enjoy music.鈥
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