[jen20]

Do they want the vinyl itself or do they want the cover art and so forth?

[lucideer]

I'd say it's varied & most often a combination of multiple things.

- They want the cover art

- They want a physical token representing an artist they like

- They want to financially support the artist in a direct way

- They speculate they might get a player someday (much akin to book buyers leaving books on their shelves unread for years on end)

1 of the above might be the primary driver for any given buyer but I'd assume all of the above play some part in their motivations.

[DavidPiper]

Makes me wonder if bands produced something like a Displate wall hanging (no promotion intended) whether that would satisfy the same itches.

For my part, there's something visceral about owning a piece of "physical music", as it were, even if I never play it.

[lucideer]

While I'm sure there are plenty of vinyl collectors out there with some Displates up, I feel like vinyl has a lot of elements that make its audience significantly broader (even excluding player owners) - mainly that it has a cultural history associated with it.

I also think people generally underestimate "potential playability" or aspirational record player ownership as factors in buying vinyl. A LOT of people who may never own a record player in their lifetime still think they might, & even if they don't their kids or grandkids might. Vinyl collections are heirlooms.

[vr46]

They want the expense without the inconvenience?

[tssva]

Anecdotal data from my Gen-Z daughter, currently a college freshman, is that they want the cover art. Her dorm room walls are decorated with vinyl albums in frames where they cannot be listened to.