The Work of Reproduction in the Age of Digital Art: The Role of ‘Aura’ in the Revitalisation of Vinyl Records and Cassettes

Abstract

Abstract We explain recent popularity in vinyl records by reframing Walter Benjamin’s notion of ‘aura’ in terms of social forces such as alienation and cultural capital. Where he pays attention to specific artefacts’ mechanical reproducibility as a way of assessing their aura, we consider how mediums themselves broadly possess variable levels of aura inversely related to their ability to be mechanically reproduced by consumers. The more easily consumers can reproduce a medium, the less aura it possesses.