Vinyl record sales surge during pandemic
Will Emanuel discusses his interest in vinyl records at his home, Thursday, May 27, 2021, in Falmouth, Maine. AP
PORTLAND, Maine — Vinyl record sales surged during the pandemic as music lovers fattened their collections, and audio cassettes began a comeback as well, keeping business spinning at record stores.
Easing restrictions on indoor shopping and continued interest in vinyl records provide stores — and shoppers — something to cheer on Saturday, the first of two Record Store Day dates. Although many stores were closed during the early part of the pandemic, people were listening to records at home and boosting online and curbside pickup sales of vinyl.
Will Emanuel, a University of Maine student stuck at home outside Portland, bought about 50 to 55 albums during the pandemic. “I was absolutely itching to build a collection,” said Emanuel. “I fell in the rabbit hole and now it seems I can’t escape.”
At 20, Emanuel is part of a new generation drawn to the warm sound, album art and retro vibe of vinyl records, joining with older Americans who grew up with the format to increase sales.
Vinyl record sales soared in 2020 during the pandemic year, growing 29% to $626 million and surpassing compact discs in sales revenue, according to the Record Industry Association of America.
Audio cassettes, of all things, are also seeing renewed interest — though still something of a novelty when it comes to overall sales — thanks to some help from Hollywood and Netflix.
“Guardians of the Galaxy” featured a grooving mixtape with hits from the 1960s and 70s that became a chart topper, while Netlfix’s “Stranger Things” featured a mixtape with the Clash and other artists from the ’80s.Vinyl sales surged 29% in 2020, reaching $626 million and surpassing CDs in sales revenue.AP
That surge in interest in records and cassettes bodes well for the annual celebration of indie music stores, those local music hubs where people can thumb through albums, CDs and cassettes, and talk music.
New releases, a hallmark of Record Store Day, which is being held on June 12 and July 17, include everything from Black Sabbath to The Blind Boys of Alabama, and the Buzzcocks to The Notorious B.I.G.
Many of those are one-time exclusives available only on Record Store Day, making them rare and collectible.
The story of its start begins in Maine, where Chris Brown from Bull Moose Music pitched the idea in 2007, and was joined by Eric Levin from the Alliance of Independent Music Stores.
A year later, the first Record Store Day launched.
These days, retailing is far different from the golden era when teens rushed to their local store to flip through 45-rpm records.
Megastores like Virgin and Tower Records are long gone, but about 1,400 record stores are still in business, said Michael Kurtz, co-founder of Record Store Day. That’s up from about 1,000 stores when the business bottomed out as people shifted to digital music, he said.
Record albums and compact discs together account for about $1.1 billion in annual sales, a far cry from the $10 billion spent on streaming services like Spotify, according to RIAA.
Nonetheless, new record stores are opening up.
In California, Michael Miller and a friend who have a collection of 5,000 to 6,000 albums apiece decided to open a store in February during the pandemic in Twentynine Palms, not far from Joshua Tree National Park, which has a thriving art and music scene.Records and CDs account for about $1.1 billion in annual sales, while streaming services rake in $10 billion.Getty Images
“My wife says you want to open a store right now, in the desert? I say sure, why not?” Miller said. Sales are beating expectations, he said.
Like many indie record stores, Miller’s White Label Vinyl provides a place for people to get together, talk about music, and to check out the latest new and used records, and other merch.
Some people shop for new albums, which cost upward of $30 apiece. Others are more interested in classic records.
John Nyboer, a professional photographer in Los Angeles, said he prefers to shop vintage stores for quirky tunes for his 2,000-record collection. Lately, he’s exploring old records from Mexico and South America.
“It’s a really fun way to expose myself to music, to learn about the history, to play amateur historian,” he said.
Back in Maine, Emanuel prefers the sound and experience of vinyl records over digital music. A listener can’t flip through tracks on a record album, he said. Vinyl requires a listener to settle in.
“It helps put the focus on the music itself,” he said. “You appreciate an entire album instead of one or two songs.”
Chris P. Thompson, a composer and percussionist in New York, said that’s precisely why he chose to release his music on records.
“I wanted a format to encourage the listener to invest the time,” said Thompson, who produces electronic music. “There’s more to the experience than flipping through songs on your phone.”
People are camping out to buy vinyl records. And it’s still 2021.
Area residents continue to celebrate Record Store Day as sales across the U.S. surge
Will Emanuel discusses his interest in vinyl records at his home, Thursday, May 27, 2021, in Falmouth, Maine. The COVID-19 pandemic benefitted record store owners who saw a surge in sales. That's good news for the indie record stores ahead of Record Store Day on Saturday, June 12. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)(Robert F. Bukaty)
Luke Sardello, co-owner of Josie Records in North Dallas, is getting ready for the campers. When he opens at 7 a.m. Saturday, he expects about 200 people to be in line, having spent at least part of the night camping out in anticipation of a once-a-year event. Saturday is Record Store Day, a nationwide celebration of vinyl records involving 1,400 independent stores like Sardello’s. After last year’s RSD was cancelled because of the pandemic, Sardello expects this one to be bigger than ever.
“There’s a lot of excitement building. People are dying to get back to normal a little bit,” Sardello said.
RSD co-founder Carrie Colliton told us the project started in 2008 as a way to have a little fun and announce that vinyl isn’t dead.
“It started as a way to throw a party and tell the world that, despite the fact that Tower Records were closing and FYE were closing, independent record stores were alive and growing across the country,” Colliton said. “We just wanted to kind of throw it out there and say, ‘Hey, we still exist. And we’re having a party for ourselves and everyone is invited.’”
Thirteen years later, the event is growing, in part because LPs are making a comeback. According to the Record Industry Association of America, LPs outsold CDs in 2020, the first time that has happened since the 1980s. Though physical media still lags far behind streaming music services like Spotify and Apple Music, a growing portion of listeners are rediscovering the joy of spinning a record.
“I think we’re in the 15th year overall of vinyl records increasing in sales. The last year or year and a half, it has exploded beyond anything we would have expected,” Sardello said. “I think people have a desire to have something tangible.”
Vinyl isn’t the only vintage media enjoying a comeback. Consumers, especially young ones, seem particularly fascinated by such antiquated things as paper books and film cameras. A 2016 book titled The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter became a New York Times bestseller. It’s as if the barrage of digital options, coupled now with the always-on nature of work during a pandemic that seems to go on forever, is making it more attractive for things to be finite, contained. It’s somehow comforting that the LP has a last song, after which the needle lifts and the music stops without asking if we’re still listening.
Artists and record labels have noticed RSD. Dozens release special anthologies or commemorative editions for the occasion. This year’s drops include Def Leppard, Bob Dylan, Miles Davis, U2 and The Who. Customers aren’t all Boomers waxing nostalgic. Sardello said the crowd in his store includes teenagers buying Ariana Grande next to Gen Xers buying the Cure.
There are more than a dozen independent record stores in North Texas. As a celebration of the waning pandemic and the enduring power of analog, we encourage readers to get out there and find some vintage vinyl.
And if you’re feeling really nostalgic, maybe pick up a printed newspaper too.
New to Vinyl Records? Here’s What You Need to Know
Better to start with a small collection of albums you play again and again than to have a large collection you listen to once a year—or worse, forget you own altogether.Photograph: Getty Images
Vinyl is officially back, but of course it never truly went away. It’s outlived the iPod, cassettes, and now CDs. A whole new generation is discovering vinyl, and it’s easier now than ever to buy records and get into the hobby if you're interested.
As a collector of 11 years, I’ve learned a lot when it comes to vinyl and availability. Not every album is going to be easy to find the moment you want it. Some collectors call it the “hunt.” But if you are new to record collecting, it’s easy to fall into the resell market trap of paying high prices for albums you can’t find easily (not to mention high prices for turntables and accessories).
If you've just started your vinyl obsession, here are the things I wish I knew when I started to collect:
Independent Record Stores Are Your Friend
A quick Google search will show you all the record stores in your area. The best thing about independent shops is that they’re all unique. Every store will have different inventory, offering a chance of finding records that are hard to get online. Independent record shops also occasionally get their own exclusive pressing of an album, which is usually a limited edition. They also can get promotional singles or posters to give away with the first pressings of an album.
Once you search, follow as many shops as you can on social media like Instagram, Facebook, even TikTok. Because of the pandemic, many record stores started posting their stock on their own website or Discogs (more on that in a moment) and will offer you the choice of shipping or picking it up. So even if there are not great record stores near you, there’s a chance you can still get the music you really want in the mail. The best independent stores will usually also have the best information about upcoming releases and when an out-of-print album is expected to be in stock again.
Don’t Miss Record Store Day
Record Store Day (or RSD) started in 2007 as a way to celebrate independent record shops back when vinyl was thought to be a dying medium. It usually takes place on a Saturday in April with hundreds of limited-edition releases of albums that are either out of print or available for the first time on vinyl. Because of the pandemic, RSD 2021 is expected to take place on June 12 and July 17.