A vinyl record holds a complete waveform of the recorded sound, each tone having an analogous point in the record’s groove. Digital audio files, on the other hand, are essentially sophisticated summaries of this original sound. They take it and use an algorithm to identify the most recognizable parts, then effectively erase the rest in order to save room, producing a CliffsNotes of each piece of music that a computer can read and relay back to our ears well enough. This serves the goal of portability well, but necessarily compromises on the conveyance of music. Now small industrial fortunes are being invested on the premise that there will be continuing and even growing marketplace demand for the purchasing of music that has been carved into grooves on black vinyl discs.

And not just for sounds, but so too for pictures!