Buzz Watch: The White Stripes New Album Rocks on both Digital, CD and Vinyl

Authored by Jay Baage on June 18, 2007 - 9:40pm.

The American duo The White Strips transcend time. Not only do they sound like they made their music in the 60s or the 70s, they have people standing in line for the new album at the now closed Tower Records store in Hollywood, reopened just for this! Plus they break new records in sales of vinyl. Yes, that’s right, seven-inch black vinyl discs. The White Stripes is a band that just sounds better on vinyl. It's as simple as that.

The White Stripes are not only bringing a classic rock’n roll sound back, they are also leading a vinyl revival by reaching the highest weekly sales for a seven-inch single for more than 20 years, as the British newspaper The Guardian points out.

The single Icky Thump - at no 2 in the UK charts - took just two days last week to break through the 10,000 sales barrier across two seven-inch formats, according to research by industry magazine Music Week.

The strong vinyl sales for Icky Thump also reflect the growing popularity of the format in the UK. Seven-inch record sales topped 1m last year, up more than fivefold in five years, according to industry data.

This is a form of old school marketing that is very effective in a digital age. As I noted in an article earlier this year, musicians these days need to be creative in building buzz about their band, both in Europe and in the US. The White Strips have proven masters at that art.

So, why are all these people lined up outside the old Towers record store? Well, it is not just to be the first to get a physical copy of the new album released June 19th. The first 200 to buy it also get a ticket to a free performance by the band at the old record store on June 20th. Now, that is something worth waiting for.

Joakim Baage