IN this era where everyone seems to get their music from platforms like Spotify or Apple Music, it’s easy to assume that physical mediums – CDs and vinyl, for example – are starting to die away. But as seen in the attendance of Vinyl on Vinyl’s most recent music takeover, this belief seems far from the truth. 

Last September 2nd, Vinyl on Vinyl held a listening party open to the public. At this pop-up event, they had a number of tattoo artists and piercers at hand, as well as cocktails and good music to mellow out the mood. And even though they were faced with the unexpected obstacle of braving through a storm, several people still came through in support of the whole thing.

What makes this event unique, exactly? Though I love getting poked by a needle just as much as the next person, what stood out to me most was the music. Why? Because all the DJs played them on turntables, spinning huge records around with precision and ease. 

I’m no stranger to going clubbing after a long day of work, but to see a DJ with a set-up so large – so… old-looking – was an entirely new concept to me. 

In all honesty, I didn’t really think vinyls were a thing anymore. Obviously, I was wrong.

If anything, the owner of Brightly Records, 33-year-old vinyl collector Teo Esguerra states that there is quite a large market in the younger generation when it comes to collecting vinyls, as seen in the success of releases like Adele’s 30 on vinyl, or practically any album of Taylor Swift’s. 

“I think vinyl used to be dead, but now she’s back,” says 26-year-old Yara El Arini, one of the attendees of the event. Esguerra has also noticed that vinyl sales now are even higher than they have been in the last ten years. 

“I know a bajillion people who collect vinyls, and there are even DJs that still use [them] as their medium. I think it’s alive more than ever; in fact, I think it’s much more alive than CDs.” 

Why vinyls are so appealing

Many audiophiles list the sound quality of vinyl records to be their most unique trait. When it’s played on a record, it just hits different. 

Sometimes on online platforms, songs may sound distorted, and not in a good way. Esguerra comments that sometimes each layer of audio overlaps with one another, from the vocals to the guitars to the drums. But on vinyl, everything sounds clear.

“Mas buo yung tunog,” explains 32-year-old David De Padua, a DJ at the event who’s been dealing with vinyl records since 2013. 

The main thing that sucked him into vinyl, though, was a crate filled with them that he received back in 2013, inheriting them after his grandfather passed away. 

“It started as remembering my lolo, but then I got into looking for other artists that I like to listen to,” he explained. 

At present, he has over 150 vinyls in his collection. How much he’s spent on said collection, he no longer knows – and he doesn’t want to know, either. 

And although 29-year-old Renzo Magnaye doesn’t have a vinyl collection of his own, he still appreciates the intricacies involved in the medium. Often he visits his friends at their houses, where they invite him in to just sit down and listen to music play on vinyls. 

The attendee explained: “Getting to listen to the needle scratching against the disc that is carved out to make these sounds that you love… the whole experience is pretty sick. Vinyl just has a unique edge to it that you don’t really get with other ways of listening to music.

Another factor is the mysterious excitement attached to the whole experience of collecting vinyl. For De Padua, that’s where a lot of the fun of it is: digging through crate after crate and looking for albums that you think you’re going to like, regardless of whether or not you know the artist’s name splayed across it. 

Oftentimes he buys albums just because he likes the look of the cover, and finds himself surprised at its contents.

Esguerra also feels that it’s a great avenue to find new music if you’re into all things obscure, or are just the type of person that likes to go and explore. He notes that there are a lot of vinyl records out there not on online streaming platforms, so it really is a matter of having the drive to go out and find them.

And of course, one obvious reason that I think a lot of us can agree with: they just look cool as hell.

“I like having to look at something physical, especially if it’s from my favorite artist, ‘cause I’m obsessed with album art,” says El Arini. It’s a kind of joy that you simply can’t get from listening to something online.

“The novelty of it is sick, there’s just something about vinyl players… if somebody invites you over to listen to a vinyl, that’s rizz,” added Magnaye.

Might not be for everyone

Though Magnaye and El Arini both like the appeal of vinyl records, they aren’t collectors themselves. The main reasons for this are that the hobby is expensive, and the equipment takes up a lot of space. 

Magnaye stated: “I get the novelty, but it’s so expensive, and for me, it’s impractical for my listening needs.” 

When De Padua first started to collect vinyl, he was shocked to learn that you needed a lot more than just a turntable. An amplifier and a phono stage, for example, are just some of the things you’ll need to invest in while getting started, not yet including what you have to pay for the records themselves. Though prices vary depending on where you’re buying them, one record (especially if it’s a popular one) often costs thousands of pesos. 

Recounting all the expenses he’s put into both his set-up and his vinyl collection, he says that he would have been able to buy a car if he hadn’t spent all that much on this hobby. Though he explains that this is all a part of its charm: saving up for records as well as putting in the work to look for ones you like.

He recommends to those who want to start collecting to think long and hard about doing so – to be sure that it’s really what they want to do. It’s a deep hobby after all given all that you have to invest in it, and it may not be for everyone.

“There is a conversation to be had about accessibility – not everybody has a vinyl player, or might think it’s practical space-wise or price-wise, but music will always have a special place in any person’s heart,” said Magnaye.

“I think as long as music is alive, there will always be room in the conversation for vinyl.”