Legal Downloads Are Up

...and so are the purchases of 7-inch singles.

That's right. Vinyl isn't dead.

AFP reported that while there were 5.7 million music downloads (legal, of course) from sources such as iTunes and the newly installed Napster, vinyl 7-inch singles rose a whopping 87 percent.

The article lends us a quote: "The bands which are proving to be popular at the moment, their fans like to buy vinyl," a BPI spokesman said.

Based on my own personal research, vinyl hasn't been dead for quite some time. Underground scenes, such as those in punk, psychobilly, rockabilly, goth and the like still remain faithful to their turntables. No surprise that this research comes from Britain - the punk capital of the world. What surprises me is that this is being issues as new news. Pay a visit to CBGBs for any good show and you'll likely chat it up with a scenester who has recently purchased band XYZ's 7-inch, or you'll have met a band who is about to issue their latest and greatest on vinyl. In fact, just this past weekend, a favorite NYC band of mine announced that their new single will be released on (surprise) a 7-inch for interested parties with a record player.

Music will go digital. You will download it (legally). You will proudly wear your mp3 players as you play air guitar to AC/DC's For Those About to Rock....but for you real music junkies, you'll still purchase your vinyl for those vintage turntables. Because it's still cool, and nothing beats a round of good rock and roll with the added scratchiness of the needle.