There have been debates about the merits and weaknesses of vinyl recordings vs. digital since the first commercial CD player rolled out in the early ‘80s, and digital has been the clear winner. But funny things have been happening lately.

The vinyl records are experiencing a revival and some are even talking about a growing niche.  These days, big artists like Lady Gaga, Pixies and The Black Keys are following the trend and bringing out their own vinyls.

At a time when tunes can be accessed on-demand and free via platforms like YouTube and Vevo, allowing music to be transportable and literally in our pockets, why would chunky vinyl records see a resurrection?

We’ll call it nostalgia or retro-mania. But dropping a needle in a grove, flipping a record and listening to an album all the way through can offer fans a deeper level of engagement with their favourite artists.

Even though vinyl was released in the early 1920s and mainly catered to the older generation, the trend nowadays is geared toward a younger audience who, it seems, like the acoustics produced by the needle.

People are, once again, reading liner notes, appreciating album artwork and grabbing up their parents’ old turn-tables to return to the days of getting up at the end of the record and flipping it over. To some young people today, this experience is worth the extra money.

It remains to be seen whether this is a passing fad or whether the old vinyl will stay with us for a long time.