LOS ANGELES – Vinyl records have been around for a long time. In 1930 the company RCA Victor launched its first commercially available vinyl long-playing record. Since then vinyls have been popular for a long time, even though everything has gone digital, for a specific group vinyls are still popular.
According to Stage Music Center website, the first vinyl record was played in 1877 when Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, and in 1895 the first commercial record was released.
Although CDs became the main format for music before digital music was introduced, vinyls have still been very popular. So popular that vinyl records outsold CDs in 2023 (43 million to 37 million), according to the RIAA annual report.
Baron Martinez who sells vinyls under his vendor name, Disco Prescription, has been selling vinyls and believes that vinyls have been coming back for a while.
“They’ve been around for years. I started selling again last year in September when I got back from Alaska working for a seafood company. I sell on discos and sometimes offer up on eBay but mostly shows all over LA,” said Martinez.
The Music Center hosted its second annual On the Record: Vinyl Fair with a lot of different vendors from Los Angeles with Disco Prescription being one of the vendors.
The On the Record: Vinyl Fair returned for a vinyl marketplace, art-making, interactive activities, dance performances, live DJs, and an open dance floor on Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center.
The fair was co-created with, Arts for LA, Dance Resource Center, dub lab, LA Commons, LAUSD Arts Education Branch and Dexter Story.
“I enjoy turning people onto new music. Giving the gift of music cause music is life and it brings us all together and it brings happiness,” said Martinez.
The vendors were invited by invitation only.
“It was an invite-only to vendors for the on the record fair. I am fortunate to be in that circle,” said Martinez.
Vinyls bring vintage and nostalgia to the community that collects and sells vinyls. Vinyl records provide a unique experience while listening to the record. Many music artists still produce their music in many different platforms, physical CDs, digital albums, and vinyls.
Although there are many vendors that sell vinyls there are some commercial stores like Target and Walmart that sell vinyls and record players. Vinyl records are still what’s up and give the community that nostalgic sound quality that has been around for ages.
My name is Vicky Pineda, I am a multimedia student journalist. I am a student attending California State University Dominguez Hills. I will be graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism in the spring of 2024. I enjoy writing about my community, sports and politics. I love how journalism can tell someone’s unique story. I enjoy reading and spending time with my three cats: Oxcy, Stardust and Ace.