Vinyl in the 2000s: From Commercial Slump to Revival

The decade opens on the worst possible scenario. The MP3, then the iPod in 2001, empty out physical racks, and Serato Scratch Live in 2004 moves DJs onto digital files, drying up the 12-inch market. And yet this is exactly where the revival begins. From 2006-2008 onward, the numbers start climbing again. Jack White champions all-analogue production start to finish with Elephant in 2003, Radiohead lavishes real care on the In Rainbows box set in 2007, and Amy Winehouse's Back to Black in 2006 becomes a lasting vinyl best-seller. Record Store Day is founded in 2008, giving independent record shops an annual flagship event. 180-gram weight and the remastered reissue become the new standard. This is the decade vinyl stops being just a DJ tool and becomes a genuinely desired object again for the general public.