Study Says Most Vinyl Collectors Are Loners

For my wedding gift, my parents gave me an antique record player and several boxes of records and let me tell you, they were among the best gifts I've ever received.

I've loved records for as far back as I can remember. As a matter of fact, the first two records I ever owned were 'Friends' by Michael W. Smith and 'Rhinestone Cowboy' by Glen Campbell. When I was school, I used to wake up my house every morning by blasting music on my record player. At first, everyone hated me for doing that, but they grew to love it and to this day, my siblings still talk about how I used to wake them with music.

My record collection is super eclectic with records from big band to 80s hair-bands and everything in between. My husband doesn't understand why I never turn down the chance to add a record to my collection and why my collection has to travel with me whenever we move, but it just does. My records and my books are like extended children and I'd be empty without them.

Call me old school, but there's something about putting a record on, dropping the needle and hearing the pops and crackle- just as there's something about feeling the pages of a book between your fingers.

But, I guess according to social standards, my record collection makes me sad and lonely- at least that's what a marketing survey says.

The study claims that music fans between the ages of 45 and 54 are the ones most likely to hunt for vinyl and people who are 18- to 24-years-old aren't super big fans of vinyl.

The survey also says that 56% of people who are into vinyl tend to bottle up their feelings and 69% of them would rather listen to music alone than with someone else, making them "middle-aged introverts."

I'd like to point out that I'm not even close to 45-years-old and I definitely don't keep my feelings to myself- I'm totally an open book. I do like to close my eyes and listen to my records alone as a way to relax, but I also like to listen to my records with my son as a way to expose him to various types of music. So there's that.

[via Metal Injection]