Music made the jump from a purely live experience to a massively recorded art form in 1877, when Thomas Edison first patented the phonograph. Whether you’re a life-long collector, new to the world of records, or you simply love queuing up the dive bar’s jukebox, this refresher on how 7-inch singles hit the scene will likely inspire a visit to the record store.īefore we jump into the arrival of the 7-inch rpm records, it’s important to rewind back to how it all began.
The history of the 7-inch vinyl showcases shows us how flexible and curious audiophiles have been about vinyl’s versatility. The size and RPM of vinyl can tip you off to the basic time period it was pressed in, or at the very least, give you an estimate of how much music is packed in. One of the distinguishing markers of vinyl LPs is their size, and RPM (revolutions per minute). It can be grounding to tap into the technology of recent history and see how quickly the medium and sound quality has evolved. As each year passes, owning physical media becomes rarer, and playing an album on a turntable can feel like stepping into a time capsule. And still, in the age of ads and endless options, enduring love of vinyl prevails, especially for 7 inch vinyl.įor some, collecting vinyl records is as much about the archival experience as the music itself. In the age of streaming platforms, all it takes is a device and a login to immediately access thousands of artists, podcasts, and curated playlists. We have never lived in a time when it was more convenient to listen to music.