This Article seems to indicate that due to environmental treaties the production of Vinyl Records will be outlawed by 2009. Will there really be no more records made? What about records made outside of North America (almost all my records come from Europe/Middle East). What are the odds of some synthetic material being used (to maintain the unique sound that records produce as opposed to digital alternatives which as a DJ I’m not interested in)?
Whats a DJ to do?
I’m dubious that vinyl will still be made…
However, don’t give up hope, check out this site which will let you scratch with an optical mouse or you can mod a turntable for the real feel.
Vinyl is a synthetic material. I am sure there are dozens of suitable alternatives in the pantheon of plastics, though they might be more expensive to produce. It’s all a matter of what you can afford to bear for your art.
I don’t think it’s true. First, googling key words in the story (“Institute of Chemical Engineering” vinyl 2009) finds the death-of-vinyl rumor and threads on various message boards about the rumor, but it does not find a press release. I also couldn’t find any information on an industry site (the Vinyl Institute) that suggests that this industry is about to be eradicated.
The key to why I think this isn’t true lies in the second paragraph, the one about the unnamed Tower Records spokesperson. It seems very tongue-in-cheek, designed to grab attention – and it seems to reinforce the claim that vinyl records will become extinct. The statement about “the few remaining traditionalist vinyl disc jockeys” seems to poke fun at vinyl DJs, who are not few. It makes me think that the article was written by a DJ who uses CDs to scare DJs who use vinyl. (AFAIK most DJs still use vinyl, and those who use CDs are often considered less authentic. Very often, a DJ who uses CDs will be accused of ‘putting on their last CD’ and not mixing at all.)
And the key to why I think this can’t be true is that poly(vinyl chloride), ‘vinyl’, is not only used to make records. Vinyl records are cut from sheets of poly(vinyl chloride), the same material that is used to make PVC pipes and siding. This material is made, for the most part, from vinyl chloride, CH[sub]2[/sub]=CH-Cl, a simple product of petroleum refining (with further processing required) with two carbon atoms and a chlorine atom. A small amount of another chemical is added to initiate polymerization. If production of vinyl chloride ended, many industries would be impacted besides the production of vinyl records. The PVC pipe and PVC siding industries must be in the billions of dollars annually. In fact, there has been some controversy about coverups regarding the toxicity and carcinogenicity of vinyl chloride (the starting material) and the combustion products of vinyl pipe and siding. Evidently, the product is profitable enough not to ban it over these concerns. There are some environmental concerns also. Though vinyl chloride is not a CFC, it probably has some very minor ozone-depleting potential as well as being a potential greenhouse gas.
Vinyl records will continue to be produced as long as people want to buy them. Overall, they’ll remain a small part of the music industry as well as the vinyl industry well beyond 2009.
Well stated Roches. The article has the hallmarks of a hoax or a UL. No people names are cited anywhere, the “key compound” is left unspecified, as are the reasons for why the chemical/petro industry “agreed to stop using it.”
What were those clear , “see through” novelty records that came out occasionally made out of?
Vinyl, probably. While records are traditionally black (probably to cover variations in feedstock), PVC is actually a crystal clear plastic (we used to package bath oil in it).
Out of curiosity, have any materials besides wax, shellac compound, and vinyl been tried on a large scale for record production? Are there existing technologies that compete with vinyl in the same market?
Dubplates (records written directly from a recording, rather than from a master copy) are made of translucent cellulose acetate. They’re only used when a small number of copies are required, so they aren’t really a competitor to vinyl, but that’s another material records can be made from. Cellulose acetate records are easier to break and less durable than vinyl; they can only be played a finite number of times before the grooves wear down and the sound quality is greatly diminished. Novelty see-through records were probably made of vinyl, though I’ve seen a few records printed on paper-thin sheets of plastic (much like a transparency) that were probably cellulose acetate.
This definitely has the markings of a hoax/UL, especially since DJs who use vinyl look down on those who use CDs. Unfortunately, most of the people on other message boards where this article is being discussed seem to believe the rumor.
Record mastering engineer checking in. The vinyl compound for records is clear. All the black ones have coloring added to them. The “special” clear vinyl records didn’t get any additives. Red, yellow, blue, marbled, what-have-you, these are just different color dyes. Records are not cut out of sheets of vinyl, a “biscuit” of vinyl is placed between the heated stampers, on which the labels have already been placed, and then they are pressed together. The vinyl melts out to the sides, the impression of the grooves is stamped into it, and a machine trims off the excess around the edges.
So long as you can still buy turntables, you can buy vinyl. Some folks still swear by tube amplifiers, and although tubes can be pricey, they can be had.
In the 1930s, the Smithesonian was using aluminum plates for recordings.
Polystyrene has been used by numerous labels, mainly for singles. It’s less satisfactory than vinyl because it’s more brittle.
Quick question to the DJ:
Analog vs. digital audiophile ranting aside, is there something fundamentally inferior about CD equipment versus a set of turntables? I would guess that cueing a CD at a particular location would be both easier and more repeatable than a turntable, with the CD spin-up time is not an issue, and scratching can be simulated digitally with pretty good realism. Apart from traditionalism, am I missing something here?
^^
Not a DJ, but I use records quite often. For me, it’s the sound that comes from vinyl. I don’t want to say that it’s better then digital audio, cause both have their advantages. I do a lot of sampling stuff, and what I like about vinyl records is the snap-crackle-pop that comes from them that really adds to the music in a pleasant way. DJ’s (real turntablists, scratchers), I believe for the most part, like the feel of spinning vinyl. Using one of digital CD scratchers feels fake for them. But the OP can probably answer that for you.
Fuji: ParentalAdvisory has the right idea, even if vinyl does not technically produce a higher fidelity sound, its certainly a unique one that many people prefer. The best CDJ units still do not replicate the tactile sensation of scratching vinyl either.
Plus if the records degenerate you have these fabulous frisbees which you can play with…where as tossing around an MP3 just isn’t so much fun.
Thanks Everyone, and yeah, I tend to agree its probably a hoax, but wanted to explore the possibility anyways.