Many of us of a certain (older) age fondly remember record stores. For us, it was a place called Mr. Muck's in Pompton Plains, NJ where many weekend and summer days were spent trolling through the massive collection of vinyl looking for something new that would rock our world and rattle the windows at home. Oh, those joyful teenage years having parents screaming at you to "turn it down."
Anyway, despite reports to the contrary, record stores are still around today despite digital downloads. A few (very few) are still thriving concerns and have managed to grow by sticking to fundamentals that made them great back in the day, including product assortment and service. A big part of the experience many years ago was talking to people working the store that seemed to know everything about the artists and the recordings.
Another blast from the past that has helped record stores is vinyl. While a small market when compared to digital downloads and even compact disks, good old fashioned LPs are a growing market. Vinyl sales rose 14 percent last year even as albums as a category fell 13 percent, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
This Sunday marks
the third annual Record Store Day, a initiative launched for independents
to remind consumers that they were still around and have something to offer.
As in the past, this year's event will include in-store performances at some
locations and limited edition vinyl albums from new and classic acts including
AC/DC, Adele, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Buck Owens, Daft Punk,
Derek & The Dominos, Flogging Molly, Foo Fighters, My Chemical
Romance and a lot more. Ozzy Osbourne is the official Record Store Day ambassador.
Record Store Day co-founder Michael Kurtz said the annual event has helped raise awareness of what independents have to offer and that has been good for business. Mr. Kurtz told the Sacramento Bee that in the three years since the event was launched, independent retailers have gone from six percent of music sales to 10 percent. Thirty-five percent of respondents to a RetailWire poll in 2009, said independents had a very or moderately big opportunity for growth. Forty-six percent thought the upside was small and only 19 percent thought there was almost no chance for independents.
"I firmly believe the future of the music industry lies in the hands of the independents. We push the envelope by taking chances on and promoting lesser known artists, and are passionate in our support and beliefs," said Tom Kohn, owner of Bop Shop Records in Rochester, NY, in a statement. "The independent record store is a place where folks can gather and connect around a common interest, and in that respect, bears little difference from the quintessential social networking sites -- the old book and record stores of the fifties and sixites."