Why more Indians are falling in love with vinyl records and gramophones all over again

I was strolling through Khan Market when something unexpected caught my attention. Behind a display of dangling cables and colourful earphones, I spotted a shiny Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ) vinyl record.

At first, I thought it was an antique or maybe the owner was an avid Shah Rukh Khan fan like me. Turns out, neither was the case. It was an actual vinyl record sitting right next to a gramophone!

The vintage music devices that I had assumed only belonged in the houses of the ultra-rich or luxury hotels – bought in fancy collectable stores – were tucked in a regular neighbourhood here, along with hundreds of records.

Rajesh Khanna’s Aradhana, Pink Floyd’s Relics, Ranbir Kapoor’s Rockstar, Madonna’s The first album, Michael Jackson’s Best hits, and even rare records from the 1940s.

“People are still buying these?” I asked Sunil Mishra, the owner of Mercury Garmophone Hub, who has spent over three decades in the gramophone business.

“Of course,” he replied, telling me that the culture of listening to music on vinyl records is officially back.

In Frame: Sunil Mishra from Mercury Gramophone Hub, Khan Market (Image Credit: Vaibhavi Mishra)

His shop has seen more customers than ever, in the past few years, looking for vinyl records, LPs, and turntables — the modern descendants of gramophones.

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But it’s not just Sunil’s store which is experiencing this shift. According to a report by IMARC Group, the Indian vinyl record market size was valued at $62.1 million (Rs 594.75 crore) in 2024.

With renewed interest from music enthusiasts, the market is expected to grow to $112.5 million (Rs 1,077.68 crore) by 2033, indicating a growth rate of 6.80 per cent.

But why are so many people willing to spend hefty sums on these when they can simply stream the music online for free?

“Listen to it yourself, and you will get your answer,” Mishra told me with a smile, while putting on a 50-year-old Jazz record.

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And within minutes, I understood what he meant. It was unlike anything I had heard from a device before. Each musical note seemed to come from a different corner of the shop!

But this magical feeling could not be enough to revive a trend, right? The journalist in me decided to dig deeper to find out exactly what is driving this shift.

The ‘tactile’ appeal

Prachi says she loves using her vinyl records as artworks (Image Credit: Prachi Shah)

Delhi-based graphic designer Prachi Shah, who has been collecting records for nearly eight years, says that vinyl has a “tactile” appeal.

“It’s nice to own something which you can physically hold. It’s like you can touch your favourite album and own a part of it.”

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This is a very common sentiment among record collectors. While a playlist sits as an invisible file tucked away inside the digital screen, a vinyl record offers a sense of ownership. And of course, you can display them in style, just like Shah!

“I also use my records as artwork,” she proudly says while revealing her monthly ritual of decorating her wall with different records, just like those Pinterest moodboards.

“Whatever songs are my favourite at the time, I display four of those… They’re like my current favourites!” chuckles the self-proclaimed maximalist.

‘It’s so classy, viby, and old-school!’

Gramophones and turntables have a timeless, classy appeal unarguably. In today’s social media era, where “aesthetics” play a big role, their comeback makes somewhat sense.

Which is why when Harshita Gupta – popular content creator, author and former radio jockey – posted about her newly bought home, Sukoon, the vintage gramophone in her pictures stole the show.

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The fact that it’s an original vintage piece that doesn’t need to be charged like modern turntables only added to the netizen’s fixation.

But it isn’t just about decor for the internet personality. “I am a very old-school person,” she says, adding that it makes her feel closer to her Lucknow roots, with listening to Ghazals on her gramophone as her nightly ritual.

The idea of putting effort into enjoying her favourite music also adds to the romanticism. The way a gramophone demands her to slow down, gently set it up, and give it her full, undivided attention.

“Everything today is a click away. But this asks you — how much effort are you willing to make for music?” she says with a laugh.

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And the efforts certainly pay off. “It feels like Rafi sahab is singing in front of me!” Gupta says happily.

The homes where records never left

Traditional gramophones neeed to be ‘recharhed’ by rotating the attached lever (Image: Vaibhavi Mishra)

For some people, however, records are almost like a proud heirloom – tied to memories that go back much further.

Santoor maestro Pandit Abhay Rustum Sopori says a sense of togetherness remains one of the gramophone’s biggest appeals.

He remembers his family sitting together, listening to LPs together, back in the day. “The gramophone was about one family, one music, one moment.”

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The awarded artist credits his early exposure to gramophone music for deepening his understanding of music, ultimately leading to his successful career.

Kolkata-based artist and musician Tathagata relates to this. “Listening to gramophones has been a regular practice in our home since the last century or so.” he proudly tells indianexpress.com.

Tagatha recalls how, even though he could not fully understand the technicalities of music as a toddler, it moved something in him.

“The sound which a record or an LP can produce is the premium quality, which surpasses the audio quality of all digital media,” he tells indianexpress.com, while admitting that vinyl music made him emotional and teary-eyed on several occasions.

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He also fondly recalls the early models, known as “Kaulergan” in Bengali, which needed to be recharged manually with the help of a “lever”. They would be rotated in an anti-clockwise manner to generate a charge for the disc to rotate.

Sunday afternoons around a turntable, with a Gen Z twist

While some were born into families who collectively enjoyed the gramophone music, a few modern day enthusiasts are building similar communities of gramophone enthusiasts bit by bit.

One such musical soul is Suharsh Dev Burman, a 55-year-old music curator and collector, who turns Greater Kailash’s Kunzum Bookstore into a musical haven every Sunday, 4 pm to 7 pm, with informal gramophone evenings.

In these non-ticketed sessions, he plays one of his favourite records from his personal collection, after which people can chat with him freely, discuss music, or even get their technical questions about gramophones answered. The response so far has been encouraging.

“I was surprised to see that people from as far as Gurgaon have come for this,” he says while recalling an overwhelming turnout for a recent musical evening at the Kunzum, dedicated to the Grateful Dead.

“It was an iconic American rock band which was active in the US between the 1960s to 1990s. It was not even that popular in India,” he excitedly tells indianexpress.com.

For Burman, moments like these are proof that interest in vinyl is no longer limited to collectors chasing nostalgia. A younger audience, he says, is beginning to discover the format on its own terms.

Shauk badi cheez hai

Vinyl, however, is not an inexpensive hobby—or as Harshita Gupta puts it, record collecting is simply a shauk. The spending begins even before the first record enters the house.

“When I started my vinyl journey, I bought a cheap record player from Amazon. But after some time, it started affecting my vinyls,” recalls Shah.

Like many first-time buyers, she started with a ceramic turntable costing around Rs 5,000-6,000. A few years later, scratches on her favourite records and a dip in audio quality forced her to upgrade.

“If you simply want to experience vinyl, an entry-level player is fine. But if you plan to stay with the hobby, investing in a better setup becomes important,” says Rakesh of Radio Gramophone House, a musical store in Connaught Place which has been in business since 1951.

Rare records can sometime cost more than a lakh (Image Credit: Vaibhavi Mishra)

Then come the records. Rakesh reveals that most new releases start at around Rs 2,000, while rare pressings can fetch tens of thousands of rupees and sometimes even cross Rs 1 lakh.

And the spending rarely ends there. Records need careful storage, older players need repairs, and skilled technicians are increasingly hard to find.

Part of the reason is scarcity. Despite renewed interest, large-scale vinyl manufacturing remains economically unviable in India.

“Vinyl and gramophone culture comes with high production costs, limited pressing capacity, and expensive playback equipment,” says Sushilkumar Agrawal, Founder and CEO of Ultra Media & Entertainment Group.

So even though the demand is rising, it has not exactly translated to easy money for the business owners. Mishra, whose shop is a rental in Khan Market, admits that sometimes it becomes a challenge to keep the store afloat.

Rent is high, customers are niche, and sales are unpredictable. The interest is definitely there. The money, not always.

Record players from Connaught Place’s Radio & Gramophone House have featured in several Bollywood films. (Image credit: Vaibhavi Mishra)

That said, the revival is no longer just about nostalgia, with a new kind of customer walking into gramophone stores.

Rupesh Butta, owner of Mercury Beyond Gadgets, shares how people are showing up with boxes of old records rescued from lofts and cupboards, eager to know whether they can be repaired, preserved, or sold for a profit.

The trend, he says, is not just limited to India. According to him, a similar resurgence is happening in Europe and the United States, especially among the Indian diaspora.

Industry estimates reflect that growth. According to Sushilkumar Agrawal, Founder and CEO of Ultra Media and Entertainment Group, the vinyl market is estimated to be worth over $60 million and continues to grow steadily.

Whether vinyl’s revival will ever go mainstream remains to be seen. But records that spent years gathering dust are being played again. New ones are being pressed. Young listeners are discovering them. Old collectors are refusing to let them go.

The irony is hard to miss. At a time when almost any song can be played on a phone within seconds — often for free — people are willingly spending thousands of rupees, hunting for records, maintaining players, and setting aside time to listen.

Maybe this is not just about a music format making a comeback. Maybe it’s also a sign of how tired we are of consuming everything through screens.

And perhaps that is why records that spent years tucked away in cupboards are finally seeing daylight again. Not because they are more convenient, but because they offer something many people seem to be craving today: magic, sukoon, and no ads!