Vietnamese singers and bands are increasingly releasing their music on vinyl, which has helped to increase interest in vinyl records in the music industry.  Photo courtesy of Audio Space

HCM CITY The hobby of collecting vinyl records has become popular again, not only in foreign markets but also in Viet Nam.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) said recently that the world vinyl record market is making an unexpected breakthrough.

Last year was the first time in 30 years that vinyl record sales surpassed CD sales.

The reasons are twofold: CD sales have dropped dramatically in recent years, while sales of vinyl records are actually up this year.

The number of best-selling vinyl records marks a turning point for the type of record that has been loved for many years by collectors and music lovers.

According to experts, the pandemic is also one of the reasons why people have turned to vinyl. Due to COVID-19, concerts are out of the picture, so people want to enjoy music by listening to limited edition vinyl records of their favourite artists.

Many experts feel that the old-school analog audio provided by vinyl sounds is superior to digital audio, especially the compressed digital formats used by streaming services.

In Viet Nam, the newly released vinyl album "Loving one person" by singer Quang Dũng with love songs of late musician Trịnh Cong Sơn has received positive feedback from critics and fans.

This is the third time that Quang Dũng has released a vinyl album. For vinyl products, Dũng spends at least three years to complete them.

"Listening to a vinyl record is a good experience. You close your eyes and imagine that the singer is standing in front of you," the singer said.

Nguyễn Ngọc Thien, director of Audio Space Production - Release Company, said the vinyl market is now more profitable than it was five to seven years ago.

Many artists have started to release music products on vinyl.

For example, honoured artist Tố Nga surprised the public by releasing the album "Moon" on vinyl. Singer Đồng Lan also released a vinyl record "Do you remember" with songs by musician Trịnh Cong Sơn that attracted the attention of many people.

Young singers and bands such as Ca Hồi Hoang (Wild Salmon), Trang, Hoang Thuy Linh and Văn Mai Hương have also released their own vinyl records. VNS