The Reason Old Record Players Are Making A Big Comeback

The main drivers behind why record players have seen a resurgence seems to be a mix of sound quality and the simple, cyclical nature of trends and nostalgia. The Recording Industry Association of America, or RIAA, published a study on consumer trends that showed most purchasers of record players were born between 1997 and 2012, effectively making Gen Z the core audience for the vinyl resurgence. Northwestern University’s Nu Science Magazine theorizes that younger people gravitate toward “vintage” trends due to a disconnected sense of nostalgia. This would make sense in the context of record players since vinyl was largely phased out by the time millennials and Gen Z came onto the scene.

The rediscovery of older technology and reapplying it to a modern context is not a new phenomenon. It’s a discussion many in the fashion world have had over the years, with fashion curator Michelle Finamore telling The Zoe Report that recycled trends have been a practice since the 17th century. Similar romanticism can be found in various other industries, from entertainment to automobiles. Viewing and cherry-picking certain parts from an unfamiliar era seemingly comes naturally to us for one reason or another, and the resurgence of vinyl records and record players has proven that.

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