For many people, including students at Carroll High School, collecting physical copies of music is an enjoyable pastime. But, in recent controversies, the question of its environmental impact has collectors alike debating their purchases.
Within the past five years, Vinyl sales have skyrocketed since their initial comeback in 2006. Many artists in the music industry release Vinyl and CD records of their albums and EPs for listeners to buy online and in stores.
Senior Emery Kee gets taken to the past when listening to Vinyl records.
“I collect Vinyl because it just reminds me of the 50s, which is an area that is just special to me… Vinyl just reminds me of that time,” Kee said.
Another benefit of vinyl Kee discovered was a way to escape being overwhelmed by advertising.
“I wanted to be able to listen to music without having to worry about notifications popping up and distracting me,” she said.
Not all students have the same thoughts. While many do buy and listen to Vinyl and CDs by their favorite artists, others find it useless with our current technology.
“It’s old and we have music for free on the internet,” said freshman Ferdian Rasooli.
In March of 2024, singer Billie Eilish called out artists for making multiple Vinyl and CD variants for strictly their own profit.
Artists like Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo have been under fire for making multiple copies of their music in physical form. These are called album variants. These variants are versions of an already released album, but with new cover art, color variations, or bonus tracks.
Swift specifically has been receiving criticism after releasing 24 Vinyl and CD variants not even a year after the initial release of the studio album, The Tortured Poets Department.
“Honestly, I like it when they add extra songs or a special edition color. But when they have the same album on vinyl in like 10 different colors, it gets exhausting and just feels like a cash grab rather than a work of passion,” freshman Gabriella King said.
Multiple students had a similar opinion as King, saying that Album Variants were merely for money. But Junior Abby Zimmermann had a different perspective.
“Some artists might release a bunch of variants because they want to make more money from vinyl sales (people accuse Taylor Swift of this), but other artists might just want to offer more colors or songs to give people more personalized options”.
Even if this is true, Eilish still emphasized its wastefulness and harmful impact on the environment.
She has been doing her part in trying to stop this issue, making her records from recycled materials and biodegradables.
While vinyl records themselves are not necessarily toxic, the production of them is. Vinyl Records are made of Polyvinyl Chloride, or PVC, which releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and CDs are made of Polycarbonate and Aluminum.
“Vinyl records typically have a larger carbon footprint than CDs, emitting about 2 kg of CO₂ per unit compared to 165 g for a CD. However, neither format is easily disposable or eco-friendly,” said junior Kunal Gurudasani.
While Gurudasani is concerned, 78% of students polled still want new tracks, different color albums to add to their collections.
“Of course they’re harmful for the environment,” senior Olivia Bullock said. “But honestly, everything is. Cars, lights, factories, making the hydro flasks… something small like this won’t do much since everything else is doing the same thing.”
