Millennials have blood on their hands: the Internet generation has been blamed for killing casual dining, focus groups, and, most recently, beer.
Amidst the gore, however, there is a ray of hope: vinyl is back, to the tune of a projected $1 billion in sales this year, and it’s largely because of millennials. Nearly 50% of gramophone customers are 35 or younger.
Vinyl Me, Please launched on the back of this resurgence. Founded in 2013 by Matt Fiedler and Tyler Barstow (themselves earnest millennials), the vinyl-subscription service sends users an exclusive LP, original album art, and a cocktail recipe designed to match the album for $29 a month.
So why vinyl, and why now? It’s not about nostalgia—most of Vinyl Me, Please’s customers didn’t grow up with LPs. Instead, Fielder attributes it to his generation’s willingness to “exchange the idea of convenience for an experience.”
In addition, for customers in their 20s and 30s, some of whom grew up streaming music, “the idea of owning is really interesting.”
“We wanted to offer a service that puts the album as the central piece of your listening experience,” says Barstow. “This incredible thing that you sit down and participate in.”
Watch the above video to hear Fiedler and Barstow philosophize about why the “Napster generation” is suddenly craving a “tangible, tactile relationship with music.”
