The vinyl comeback: How 12on12 are bridging the gap between music and art
The world of music seems to be at a turning point.
Whilst many of us have turned to popular streaming platforms, like Spotify or Apple Music, to consume our music, there appears to be a renaissance in CDs and vinyl records.
Figures released by the music trade body British Phonographic Industry showed that vinyls accounted for nearly a quarter of album purchases in 2021, hitting the highest levels since 1990.
A company that is trying to jump on this bandwagon is 12on12.
12on12 is an exclusive high-end vinyl brand, which stands for 12 tracks on a 12” vinyl.
The firm invites musicians like RUN DMC and Travis Scott to choose 12 tracks that they feel soundtrack their lives and provide the canvas of vinyl to put together a unique package of music alongside a piece of commissioned artwork.
Speaking to 12on12 founder Claudia Moross, she told City PM: “I was inspired to start 12on12 in 2015 when I began to notice the huge resurgence in vinyl as collectibles. What the medium of vinyl provides that CD, cassette or digital can’t, is not only a higher quality sound but a much larger space for self-expression in the artwork and packaging.”
Another key feature of vinyl is that, unlike a digital playlist, it is not easy to skip or shuffle songs.
“It’s beauty is in putting a record on and sitting and listening right through while perusing the artwork and sleeve – it would be incongruous to have a slash metal track followed by a folk song. The compilation has to be curated by the cultural icons in a way that provides a certain experience for the listener – this is all a part of the creativity of the projects”, she added.
Moross said that the resurgence of vinyl is rooted in the fact that consumers are now craving “physicality and superior sound quality of music that was lost due to the digital era”.
In particular, she finds the huge growth in the under 35 year-old age group particularly interesting.
“I believe a big part of this is due to the fact they grew up in the time of mp3s and digital downloads and didn’t have the experience of buying their first CD, putting it on, listening to it from top to bottom while reading the liner notes and lyrics”, she told City PM
In terms of future ambitions, she said the plan is to create experiential activations that tap into nostalgia, and to create luxury merchandise, collaborating with creatives and licensing the 12on12 brand.
She said this would only happen when “the time is right”, and explained that the new partnership with Grammy-award winning producer Swizz Beatz, which was announced today, would help facilitate this.
Swizz is not only acquiring a strategic stake in 12on12, but he will also build on its reputation for unique ‘vinylworks’ and bespoke collectors’ editions following previous collaborations.
He will be compiling his own exclusive limited edition 12” vinyl only compilation featuring a selected tracklist celebrating Swizz’s love and passion for jazz across its four sides.
“One of our ultimate goals is to be to vinyl what Supreme is to skateboarding, we want to build a trusted pop culture brand in the music and visual art worlds and will expand from there”, Moross said.