It's no secret we here at Diffuser are fans of vinyl; for anyone who has dropped the needle on a record, you understand the experience that surrounds the vinyl culture. The artwork, the ritual, the focus -- it all comes together as soon as the needle finds the groove.

It's not breaking news that vinyl is experiencing a resurgence of sorts. While longtime collectors will say the format never disappeared, it's hard to argue that it has found a whole new audience in the last seven years (due, in great part, to the formation of Record Store Day in 2007). In 2013, while every other medium dropped in sales, vinyl grew. Just this year, Jack White's 'Lazaretto' blew away expectations when it sold more than 40,000 copies of the vinyl alone in its first week.

But, that of course doesn't mean that vinyl is the music industry's savior -- it still accounts for a minute portion of overall sales. In fact, as the U.K.'s Superfi puts it, "Ultimately, given the choice, people are choosing digital" as their primary way to listen to music -- but that's not necessarily a good thing for the music industry. "Alongside the growth of the MP3 format, there has been a growing expectation that users are entitled to listen to and share music for free," Superfi's Laura Creed explains. "This is threatening the profitability and sustainability of the music industry."

Through what must have been hours and hours (maybe days) of research, Creed created one of the most fascinating infographics we've seen in a long time: 'The Rise of Digital vs. The Vinyl Revival,' an enormous piece of information that dives into why interest in vinyl has come back, and what digital's popularity means for the industry. You can check it out below, and make sure you get Creed's full thoughts on this topic over at Superfi's blog.

'The Vinyl Revival' Infographic (via Superfi)

'The Vinyl Revival' Infographic
Superfi.co.uk
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