Sara Lierly
ANTH4995/ Research Final Draft
April 9, 2019
The Evolution of Vinyl:
Cultural
Artifacts and Consumer Agency
in the Digital
Age
Technology
and economics are the primary ways in which certain cultural components
transition and move. One of the more
impactful cultural transitions of the 1980’s involved popular music and vinyl
record buyers. When the compact disc
arrived on the market, it replaced vinyl records as the most practical form of
technology and effectively made way for a future subculture of vinyl
collectors. This subculture may contain those who wish to revive history,
resist new technology, or conjure a way of life they once knew. It also may contain those who enjoy newer
musical ventures with an “old school” flare such as mixing. The journey to
broaden cultural memory of the “good old days” of pop culture and challenge the
progression of new technology by focusing on material vintage items may be a
way of defining oneself through objects of imagined value. The way in which music is consumed has also
shifted drastically, and this project will analyze the initial emergence of
vinyl as a technological triumph and the re-emergence of vinyl as an optional
format for music consumption in the digital age while exploring, within the framework
of practice theory, how consumers navigate the relationship between power and
agency.
The
History of Listening:
Music
has been a significant component of the human cultural experience since
prehistoric times, emerging between 30,000 and 60,000 years ago, but Thomas
Edison’s invention of the phonograph in 1877 entirely revolutionized music
consumption. The earliest form of the
“record” was an all wax cylinder that could be shaved down to record new sounds. Discs were first
released in a five-inch version, then in a seven-inch, a ten-inch, and finally
a 12-inch version in 1903. At the same
time, interest in double-sided records began to increase, and created shellac records
which would only play on phonographs made by Edison. After WWII, shellac was replaced by vinyl, a
lighter and more durable material. As
record changers became prevalent in homes across America, record sales
exploded. The transition to vinyl was
accompanied by a shift in industry standards from a 10-inch 78 rpm record to a
33 1/3 rpm record which afforded listeners a much longer listening
experience. The term “record album” was
derived from the 78 as many were sold in collections contained in sleeves and
bound into a book format as a way to accommodate longer tracks/track lists.
Radio also became more
prolific after the war, and the number of radios in American households
increased exponentially in the 1920’s and more than doubled in the 1930’s,
ushering in the golden age of radio. In
1922, the first radio advertisement aired, effectively changing the landscape
of music broadcasting and ultimately music consumption. The invention of the transistor made radios
smaller and more portable, and in 1958, RCA revolutionized music consumption
once again with the introduction of the tape cartridge. Until then, vinyl records had remained the
definitive form of home listening for decades.
Home audio consumption was concentrated in 8-track tape sales by the
middle of the 1960’s, and once tape decks were readily available, the cassette
became a fixture in the lives of music consumers. The Walkman, a portable tape
deck which could be clipped on a person’s belt or hand-held to provide for
greater mobility, is arguably an innovation with more impact than the cassette
itself. This is the first time music was
available to go wherever the consumer went.
The Walkman lent its name to portable CD players and MP3 players,
ultimately providing a precursor to more modern devices like the iPod. In 1983, the vinyl record was superseded in
sales by the cassette for the first time, largely due to components like the
Walkman.
The compact disc
erupted in popularity by the late 80’s, and as prices decreased for players,
portable and not, recording artists began converting vinyl albums/catalogs into
digital format. The CD provided a much
longer listening experience than the vinyl, a length comparable to cassettes
but completely superior in sound quality.
MP3 technology, the
first downloadable form of music consumption, actually began in 1982, but
wasn’t made available to the public until the mid-nineties. Dubbed peer-to-peer music sharing, MP3
consumption became controversial with companies like Napster offering file
sharing for free, ultimately prompting an uprising among recording artists to
curb the theft of their products. Once
the dust settled on the initial controversies, the iPod arrived on the market
with the option to purchase downloadable music files and save them to a
portable device. The ability to purchase
an album or a single song with one touch of a button was, and is still, a very
attractive product to consumers, and iTunes has been the single largest
distributor of music in the United States since 2008 and the largest in the
world since 2010. (King, E., n.d.).
Lastly,
streaming music accompanies downloading as a common music practice in the
modern world. Popular apps like Pandora
have been, much like the MP3, embroiled in controversies about artist royalties,
and the disparity between artist payouts and company revenue are still not
sitting well with many artists.
Nevertheless, within the past few years, online music streaming has
outperformed digital music in sales, compounding the concern that authorizing
relatively free consumption of music will damage the music industry.
Practice Theory:
Through
the framework of practice theory, this paper analyzes how a subculture of vinyl
collectors return to material consumption practices in the age of
de-materialization. A number of
theorists developed theoretical lenses through which practice can be observed,
but in the anthropological sphere, Sherry Ortner was among the foremost
synthesizers of this work. “Practice theory seeks to explain the
relationship(s) between human action, on one hand, and some global entity which
we call ‘the system’ on the other. Every
usage of the term ‘practice’ presupposes a question of the relationship between
practice and structure.” (Halkier,
B., Katz-Gerro, T., & Martens, L., 2011).
In
short, the theory of practice involves the ways in which social beings with
motives and intention shape their world and how this translates to a dynamic
between structure and personal agency, or the ability of one person to act
independently and/or make decisions autonomously. Theories of practice have and continue to
challenge conventional social scientific accounts of consumption. As the acquisition of goods and the
significance of the development of behaviors and tastes is more broadly
understood, practice theory presents inquiries about concepts of the
relationship between things, social context, mind, body, and action.
Sherry Ortner argues that no individual has access to
absolute agency, and that our options are bound within the constructs and
resources of our social and material worlds.
Thus, agency always operates within the limit of the
structure/power. According to Ortner,
practice theory focuses on everyday practices, noting that ‘practicing’, or
participating in, daily activities like consumption, people are bolstering
their cultural structures, but the structure is simultaneously shaping the
consumer. Ultimately, practice theory is
a combination of Clifford Geertz’s thick descriptions rooted in more political
views of culture in relationship to the individual and the underlying economic
and social structures framing everyday life.
“Subculture
is significant because its transformations go against nature,
interrupting
the process of normalization
and
are gestures of movements which offend the silent majority.”
-Dick
Hebdige, “Subculture: The Meaning of Style”-
The recording and consumption of music albums originated
in the vinyl medium which provides a type of authenticity to the analogue
format not associated with other past forms of listening. A collector is effectively seeking private
pleasure while also exploring his/her own autonomy through the implication that
is not only possible but liberating to measure time in his/her own way and to
experience, analyze, and manifest differences. The limits of one’s cultural freedom are,
through the lens of practice theory, inevitably subject to the collective
memory of self-expression and a homogenous identity repository with various
niches for revolutionaries and conformists alike. Playing vinyl records incites various ritual
engagements which renders vinyl a carrier of deeper aesthetic and political
meanings and an antidote to the hegemony of the digital listening cultures’
reliance on homogenous platforms and means for the music consumption.
Recent
participation in vinyl culture may have social/anthropological implications
such as the quest for personal agency, desire for nostalgia, and reclamation of
identity politics. Vinyl record
collectors in contemporary society may be looking for ways to re-establish
one’s agency in a world of frenzied consumerism and rapid technological
advances. In the 1970’s and 80’s, music
consumers and critics anticipated the decline and potential death of the vinyl
record, but today, a steadfast following exists among members of Generation X
nostalgic for the music of their youth, and millenials on the hip hop, techno,
and punk scenes. The persistence of this
“antiquated” technology in a world teeming with new devices and technological
advances is made possible by the consumers’ and producers’ re-articulation of
the cultural meaning of vinyl.
Whether looked upon as a revolution or simply touted as
progress, the advancement of new technologies involves a process of the
evolution of one and the simultaneous de-evolution of another. When cultural icons become obsolete, valued
products and artifacts go with them, and this can set the scene for an
emergence, or re-emergence, of an entire subculture of consumers who, for
various reasons, prefer the old to the new.
“To die-hard aficionados of long-playing records, [new technology] is
nothing less than a Faustian struggle between humanism and technocracy for
music’s soul…. A contest that pits the past against the future.” (Plasketes, G., 1992).
Recent discourse on practices of music consumption and
listening gives priority to the digitalization of sound and role of digital
music players in transforming the model, medium, and plausibly the content of
music. Though this is certainly an area
of significance, it is also true that vinyl records are currently the fastest
growing division of the market of music consumption. The valuation of vinyl as a cultural artifact
suggests various explanations of the paradoxical renaissance of the analog
record in the digital age including ritual, aura, iconicity, and the hipster
sensibilities of a younger generation.
The vinyl record is a dynamic
cultural commodity because of its symbolic fluidity. Various audiences associate diverse
attachment to the materiality of the record, each related to a basic culture
structure which is ultimately rooted in notions of authenticity, heritage, and
hipness.
“Vinyl is
identified by different listening communities to draw upon and signify
different – to some degree unique and in some cases contradictory – cultural
connotations. In general, we have argued that vinyl has this capacity because
it concretizes and points to various meaningful, powerful historical and
cultural representations and narratives, and because it offers particular
materially afforded qualities of engagement.”
(the vinyl: Analogue)
Interpretive analysis
relies on thick descriptions of culture, narrative, and materiality, but
material relativity to components of the vinyl culture including turntables,
collection, record stores, second hand exchange and the relationship between
de-commodification and re-commodification.
The vinyl record harkens to the heritage of the canonical tenets of
pop/rock. Albums of importance which
were initially listened to on vinyl bestows a certain authenticity upon the
analogue format, and when the arrival of the compact disc seemed to squeeze the
last bit of life out of the vinyl consumer market, the underground scene held
on, and the vinyl record was sustained by youth cultures, their allegiances to
techno, dance, and hip hop genres, and the relevance of the analogue format to
the performative and collective listening practices of these cultures.
Materiality
in the Age of De-Materialization:
In today’s digital market, music
consumption has become fragmented, emphasizing the purchase of individual
tracks over entire albums. While this
can be convenient and desirable, it has also changed the way we listen to
music, the meaning behind it, and possibly the content of albums and the
creative processes by which they are made.
Quite simply, for vinyl enthusiasts,
“There’s something special about picking out an
album that not only contains one of your favorite tracks, but has the perfect
balance of up-tempo tracks and soulful melodies; that hits the sweet spot of
combining builds-ups and breakdowns, catchy hooks and crushing riffs. The art
of putting an album together is still alive and well, even if it’s a bit under-appreciated
at the moment. Its day very well may return.” (Bartmanski,
D., & Woodward, I., 2015)
As a material
treasure trove of sound, the vinyl is perpetually commodified, de-commodified,
and recommodified per second hand markets, largely available through the internet
today. Record albums seem to be
intrinsically connected to spaces and scenes, romanticized by clubs, record
stores, and other similar spaces and representing an assemblage of similar
sentiments which speak to the vinyl’s contemporary aesthetic consciousness. To this end, it equalizes binaries such as
virtual vs. real, strategic vs. sentimental, ordinary vs. extraordinary, etc.,
and helps manifest and galvanize notions of hipness, coolness, and
“alternative”. The vinyl record is
arguably one of the more significant modern cultural commodities upon which
these often ambiguous cultural traits are fixed and stable and is a shining
example of how the vinyl unlike digitized music, a product which can be
reproduced mechanically, can become a seminal expression of many cultural
characteristics. (Bartmanski, D., & Woodward, I. , 2015).
Though the
vinyl record was a persistent product through the emergence of the first surge
of digitalization marked by the arrival of the compact disc, vinyl sales are
again experiencing a resurgence as internet-based technologies are monopolizing
the market for music consumption. Why
are people determined to hold on to seemingly obsolete technology? Why are we still interested in a product as
awkward and cumbersome as the vinyl record when we could simply store
electronic information conveniently on our devices?
The constant
revitalization of vinyl relies on the relative conception of such meanings as
object, obsolete, old, information and musical experience, and the survival of the
record is complicated in that it represents specific practice and retains a
dynamic history for consumers. These things may give the vinyl a quality of
authenticity that cannot be reduced to any one notion of individuality or
novelty but is rather developed in proximity to social performance. (Bartmanski, D., & Woodward, I., 2015).
Dematerialization
of material artifacts and objects is solidly correlated to the study of
consumerism. Analyzing the effects of
dematerialization on the practice of music consumption in the digital age
through the theory of practice framework helps decipher the role of materiality
and highlights the evolving relationships between social practice and material
consumption. Music digitalization hardly
means consumers are less interested in material objects when listening to
music, and, in fact, materiality is reserved as a way to resist new modes and
preserve a perceived authenticity and personal agency in the age of
de-materialization. Even the practice of
digital consumption is entrenched in a symbolic set of actions and social
exchanges “inscribed and hardwired into the design of material artifacts”. (Magaudda,
P., 2011).
Digitalization
itself is paradoxical in that it reconfigures the relationship between material
artifacts/objects and culture which gives way to an entirely new role for
material objects in the everyday lives of consumers. These changes have not forced, as some might
assume, the dematerialization of consumption and the dwindling of material
goods, but instead motivate ‘re-materialization’ and a renewed articulation of
the consumer’s relationship to materiality, pragmatic activities, and cultural
meanings.
That
said, there is also the ever-present notion of nostalgia for vinyl collectors
of a certain age. As a way of reclaiming
agency in a society of music consumption through a heightened cognizance of the
complexities of the bygone cultural past, exotic record collecting is a way of
exercising politics and is the postmodern renaissance of “ethnographic
surrealism” touted as one of more impactful catalysts of modernism. Record collecting can expand cultural memory
of the yesteryear of pop culture and curb industry proliferation of the “new”
with the “vintage” and avenues of redefining oneself through material objects
of imagined value. (Harvey, E., 2017).
Conclusion:
In the
contemporary world of music consumption, old and new devices are equally
pertinent to practices in consuming intangible music formats. Practice theory can be beneficial in
highlighting the heterogeneous nature of digital consumption and the processes
of cooperation between embodied activities, culture, and materiality. Further,
‘re-materialization’ in consumption practices also points to the growing
relevance of device and technology apportionment and how this influences
symbols of culture. (Magaudda, P., 2011).
The history of music consumption spans nearly 150
years. Music is relevant to how we
communicate, worship, celebrate, design, etc., and is not likely to lose its
prominent place in our daily lives any time soon. It is powerful, but the ways in which we
relate to it continue to evolve. The
vinyl record’s resurrection as an alternative form of music consumption in the
digital age has ultimately spurred vinyl sales to a 223% increase since 2008 (Hayes, D., 2006). No matter where we are headed in the future
of music consumption, whether we digress to full control or continue into cyber
obscurity, the only abiding truth is that we will be listening. The structures through which we experience
music in contemporary society only bear a scant likeness to the way we listened
a century ago, and yet, we still listen. From the phonograph to the iPod, human
history has been marked by technological paradigm shifts, all the while fueling
a subculture of exotes who are determined to preserve cultural artifacts and
re-materialize the society of music consumption.
References
Bartmanski, D., & Woodward, I. (2015). The vinyl: The analogue medium in the age of digital
reproduction. Journal of consumer culture, 15(1), 3-27.
Bartmanski, D., & Woodward, I.
(2018). Vinyl record: a cultural icon. Consumption, Markets &
Culture, 21(2), 171–177. https://doi.org/10.1080/10253866.2016.1212709
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