More than just a collector's item, more than a means of listening, vinyl is also at the heart of the ecological debate. Between the environmental impact of streaming and plastic pollution, where does vinyl really fit into this equation?
The vinyl is not scratched yet. For around ten years, the microgroove record has been a resounding return in the Music industry, after it had fallen into obscurity in the early 90s, with the heyday of CDs, then streaming. This enthusiasm is confirmed in the figures – 5.4 million vinyls were sold in France in 2022. The same year, sales of new vinyl records increased surpassed those of CDs in the United Statesnot only in terms of turnover (thanks to a higher average selling price), but also in terms of volume of units sold. In total, 41 millions vinyl records were purchased compared to 33 million CDs, marking a historic step in the evolution of physical media. To the delight of music lovers from the very beginning!
Except that this renaissance has an ecological cost. So yes, it ruins the atmosphere, but the vinyl is composed of 43 % de PVCone of the plastic materials the most pollutingfrom petrochemicals. Each 135g disc produces 0.5kg CO2 – or the equivalent of the annual emissions of 500 people just with the 5 million units sold in France last year. But that's not all. Old vinyl presses use a lot of energy and water. Solvent-based inks used for cover art contribute to ozone depletion. Yes, compared to streaming, vinyl is a medium “warm and authentic”but which leaves behind a significant environmental footprint, warming both your heart and the planet…
In 10 years, vinyl sales have increased tenfold
According to Marie Pieprzownik, a sound engineer and one of the only vinyl engravers in France, the engraving process itself requires the use of aluminum lacquers covered with a special layer, a material produced only in Japan since the closure of the American factory that manufactured it. This dependence on a single supplier lengthens lead times and accentuates the carbon footprint due to transport. “Everyone uses Japanese lacquers today. It arrives in cargo and it further complicates the environmental impact”explains Marie.
Streaming, the invisible enemy
Faced with plastic pollution from vinyl, streaming could appear as the “green” option. Except no. It's absolutely the opposite. As Kyle Devine explains at Teleramaspecialist in environmental studies linked to music, “even if streaming seems virtual and weightless to us, in reality it is a much more tangible practice than anything we can see and hold in our hands”. The servers needed to listen to millions of tracks continuously are real energy sinkholes. In 2016, greenhouse gas emissions from streaming in the United States were estimated between 200,000 and 350,000 tonnes of CO2. Compare to the 157,000 tonnes of CO2 emitted by the music industry at the peak of vinyl sales in 1977. Listen to an album on a streaming platform consumes 27 times more energy than the manufacture of a CD or a vinyl, according to a study published in 2012 by the NGO MusicTankspecializing in scrutinizing developments in the British music industry (closed in 2018). So before listening to the mixtape from your friend's friend, knowing full well that it will disappoint you, think about the planet…
LPs… made of seaweed
To limit the ecological impact of vinyl, alternatives are beginning to emerge. Some factories like M Com' Musique in France or Evolution Music in the United Kingdom are exploring innovative avenues. The first launched in 2016 the “Vinylgue”a biosourced disc made from brown algae. An innovation that Marie Pieprzownik followed closely: “There was a factory in France which has since closed, but they had managed to make biodegradable algae vinyls. Sonically, it sounded good, like a real record. The problem was that they were very fragile and therefore not very durable.
Other start-ups are trying to create vinyl records from sugar cane or plastic waste recovered from English beaches. THE “biovinyle” is another promising avenue. These discs use vinyl granules based on calcium-zinc, a recyclable material that is less polluting than PVC. Marie Pieprzownik explains: “Factory tests on bio-vinyls are very promising. They sound very good, almost like classic vinyl, but their production costs more. It therefore takes a real will from artists to engage in this approach”. A will extremely rare : while the greatest French artists have cut their vinyl in Marie's studio, the Translab, the oldest studio in France. Daft Punk, IAM, Telephone, SCH, to name a few. Never one decided to opt for the organic record, according to the sound engineer. Proof that considerable efforts are still being made to do.
Promises and obstacles
Progress in promoting these alternatives notably. Yet the promises are there. Billie Eilish, for her new album entitled Hit Me Hard And Softreleased on May 17, was pressed from recycled materials, according to the American singer, 5th most listened to artist in the world on Spotify. This technique, still under development, would make it possible to reduce 90% CO2 emissions compared to standard vinyl. A big spotlight for eco-friendly vinyl. However, as mentioned above, this process is “under development”, and if the generalization of this alternative remains stammeringthe unconvincing durability and the uncertain real impact of these supports are not for nothing.
These biosourced or recycled vinyls, although promising, do not solve the problem of lacquers used for engraving. These lacquers are not yet compatible with biodegradable materials, which limits the eco-responsible production chain. For Marie Pieprzownik, “we will have to rethink the entire production chain, from lacquers to inks on the covers, if we really want to talk about eco-responsible vinyl.” Unfortunately, these initiatives remain marginal, hampered by high production costs and still limited production capacity. Bio-vinyls could be the solution, but it will take time before mass production is profitable and sound quality is guaranteed.
What if the real solution was sobriety?
So vinyl or streaming? Faced with these two models, the best option, for the moment, could be to listen less, but better. Listening to an album over and over in streaming or buying a collection of vinyls stacked on a shelf “just to look pretty” contribute to overconsumption. Marie Pieprzownik says it: “Today, we know that many people buy vinyl records without actually listening to them. They become decorative objects. Even for artists, it's a way of highlighting the cover, the visuals, etc.” The “digital sobriety” and the rational purchase of physical disks could be more sustainable solutions.
Between the plastic pollution of vinyl and the energy footprint of streaming, no listening method is perfect. While streaming appears cleaner on the surface, its long-term energy cost is colossal. Vinyl, for its part, remains a tangible and durable object, but still largely dependent on PVC. The biovinyls and algae vinyls initiatives show that another path is possible, but it remains to make it more accessible. Marie Pieprzownik, unsurprisingly, made her choice: “What we often forget is that vinyl is also an object that we keep. We lend it, we resell it, it has several lives. It's not just an audio stream that we we listen and we forget”. It's now in your hands, and both ears!
Sources :
- Interview with Marie Pieprzownik, vinyl engraver at the Translab studio in Paris, December 18, 2024
- Vinyl Record Manufacturers Association (VRMA) Report – Making Environmental and Sustainability ClaimsAugust 2024.
- The Mouv – “Vinyl must undergo its ecological transformation”21 avril 2023.
- L’Info Durable – “Plastic pollution: are “bioplastics” an alternative?”February 2, 2022
- Télérama – “Vinyl or streaming: which musical medium pollutes the planet the most?”July 28, 2019.
- Tsugi – “Return of vinyl in France: a success of French rap?”July 3, 2024
- France Inter – “Eco-responsible vinyl, a solution for the future?”15 avril 2024
- West France – “A poetic and ecological work: they create a 100% natural vinyl record… made from algae”2 avril 2024
- South West – “Music: the great return of the vinyl record which is on par with the CD”26 mars 2023
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