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A Phenomenology of Spotify and Vinyl

The vinyl record signifies a larger world of which the audible dimension of music is only one part.

Album artwork is powerfully expressive; it conveys far more than a small picture on a screen not only because it is larger but also because, in the days when vinyl was king, the artist and studio usually invested more in creating distinctive covers to attract the attention of shoppers. Discovering new music once required at least one of two things: to listen to the radio and hear whatever songs that the DJ chose that day, or to receive recommendations from friends, family, and peers—or from popular magazines or record store employees. Although the renewed popularity of vinyl records may be the result of any number of factors, it points to something that has been radically diminshed in the age of Spotify, namely an experience of listening to music that is more broadly experiential and more richly social.

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