Neil Young Calls Vinyl Revival A “Fashion Statement”

In an interview with a Californian radio show, Young said “A lot of people that buy vinyl today don’t realise that they’re listening to CD masters on vinyl and that’s because the record companies have figured out that people want vinyl,”

“They’re only making CD masters in digital, so all the new products that come out on vinyl are actually CDs on vinyl, which is really nothing but a fashion statement.”

Vinyl has experienced a massive boom in the music industry. Although nowhere near the popularity it reached when it was the dominant music format, in 2011 vinyl sales rose by a dramatic 70% in a single year.

Neil Young’s comments are most likely in an effort to push the Pono Player and music service, a high-definition audio player championed by Young, he said in the interview that “It’s capable of creating the best sounds that people can create in the digital realm in the recording studios.”

The Pono Player has had some less-than-stellar reviews since coming onto the market, with Yahoo calling it “A tall, refreshing drink of snake oil” and losing to the iPhone in a blind audio test.