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(credit: Sony)
Sales of vinyl records have been on the rise for years, but according to the RIAA's 2022 year-end revenue report for the music industry (PDF), record sales hit a new high last year. For the first time since 1987, unit sales of vinyl albums outpaced those of CDs, vindicating all the people who have spent decades of their lives talking about how vinyl "just sounds better."
Although vinyl unit sales only surpassed CDs last year, revenue from vinyl records has been higher than revenue from CDs for a while now. In 2022, the RIAA says that vinyl albums earned $1.2 billion, compared to $483 million for CDs. The growth in vinyl was more than enough to offset a drop in CD revenue, helping overall physical media revenue climb 4 percent over 2021 (which was already way up over 2020).
Growth in vinyl revenue was more than enough to offset a drop in revenue from CDs. Vinyl unit sales have surpassed CD unit sales for the first time since 1987. (credit: RIAA)
Streaming services still account for the vast majority of all music revenue in the US—84 percent, up from 83 percent in 2021. The RIAA says there was an average of 92 million streaming music subscriptions active in 2022, which, together with digital radio and ad-supported sites like YouTube, generated $13.3 billion. The growth of streaming services and physical media comes at the expense of paid digital downloads, which accounted for a mere 3 percent of all music revenue in 2022.
The original La Boite concept LX Turntable presented itself as a handsome all-in-one audio system, combining speaker, turntable, and amp onto a furniture-like stand that looked closer to a desk than hi-fi system. Spiritually, its integrated componentry shares the lineage of vintage stereos systems designed to become part of the home decor, rather than impose itself upon the rest of the home. To take this presence further, the hi-fi technologists La Boite concept have paired with textile house Lelièvre Paris for Maison&Objet, in creation of a special edition LX Turntable covered with two fabric options exuding a quintessentially French sense of style and drama.
Available in two fabric sheathed options, the first is the Hera, fabric in a graphic two-tone geometric pattern with rosewood intended to evoke a labyrinth (fans of the show Twin Peaks may be reminded of another mysterious destination).
The second is one sheathed in the Riga fabric, a sporty and chunky dark green corduroy. The dense and supple pile calls out to be touched; fortunately, the fabric itself is “extremely resistant” in texture to endure such temptations.
The Lelièvre fabric-covered turntable itself features a carbon arm tipped with an Ortofon OM10 cartridge, engineered on an integrated anti-vibration board with shock absorbers for optimal stability and to minimize distortion.
Onto the audio system itself: the LX Turntable Special Edition continues to present itself as an audio system designed for those obsessed with details beyond technological specs, a minimalist 4.1 audio system where nary a cable can be found. The desk style design comprises a floating plywood turntable sitting upon an all-black front base with black stained solid beech legs.
Outfitted with two front-firing speakers, two rears placed at the top-back surface, and a woofer, each channel is powered by its own Class D amp; all five channels are rated for a total power of 285 W (1 x 90 watts + 2 x 25 watts + 2 x 20W) – plenty to inhabit a large room with a lively sound.
The entire system is engineered to be a self-contained solution, but can also pair with other traditional and digital sources, including laptops, tablets, CD players, and other wireless protocols via Bluetooth Apt-X, Sonos, Apple Airplay USB, and Google Chromecast. But at nearly $5,000, the Lelièvre Special Edition Concept LX Turntable is every bit a statement piece, intended just as much to be seen as heard.
Photos by ©Mario Simon Lafleur.
Back in 2003, the fan-favorite wrestler "Macho Man" Randy Savage released a hip-hop album titled "Be a Man." Why? Who knows. There wasn't even any notable producer attached. CMJ Magazine said Savage's flow was "surprisingly tight for a middle-aged musclebound beef jerky salesman with an audible constipation problem." — Read the rest
From 1995 to 2010, around five million vinyl records were sold per year. Then the analog resurgence took hold and sales went up and to the right (along with prices on "collectible" records). Last year, more than 43 million records were sold in the US. — Read the rest
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