Vinyl records making a comeback

Continuing to find great 'vinyl content' I would like to thank the author of this great piece, Bill Hanna and his publication http://www.star-telegram.com for allowing me to post this local record store story:


Reprint Courtesy of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Vinyl records making a comeback

Sales jumped 77 percent in the first half of this year compared with last year, according to Billboard


By BILL HANNA


Given the turbulent state of the music industry, Record Town probably shouldn’t be in business anymore.

But the family-owned music store across the street from Texas Christian University has received an unexpected lifeline from what it has been selling since it opened 51 years ago: vinyl records.

"Maybe it’s the name of the store. Maybe it’s come full circle," Record Town owner Sumter Bruton said. "All I know is we’re selling more than we used to."

Bruton isn’t alone.

In the era of iPods and cellphone downloads, vinyl albums are making a comeback, with sales jumping 77 percent in the first half of 2008 compared with the first half of 2007, according to Billboard magazine. Vinyl is still a niche, selling 803,000 units — a fraction of the 258.9 million combined sales of CD’s and downloads.

But for many baby boomers, the love of vinyl never went away.

They kept their turntables, bought used albums and never got rid of their collection.

Younger buyers have come to vinyl either through their parents' old collections or they have been led by their favorite bands putting out vinyl albums.

For TCU student Trent Cockerham, however, it wasn’t even about music. He snagged a used album by legendary gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt at Record Town to use as wall art.

"I don’t even know where to find a turntable anymore," said Cockerham, who was surprised to learn that there were two for sale at Record Town.

Popular buys

Most customers, however, buy with the intent of listening. And it’s the old warhorses from the vinyl heyday of the 1960s and '70s like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Doors and The Beatles that always sell.

But there are exceptions. At Grand Prairie’s Forever Young Records, a Fort Worth native seems to be more popular than The King.

"Townes Van Zandt — for some reason every time we have that one, it always sells," said Taylor Eckstrom, Forever Young’s manager. "But Elvis Presley, we usually have more coming in than we do going out."

The only place in Texas that still presses vinyl records is A+R Record and Tape Manufacturing in Dallas. In the last three years, Stanley P. Getz II, A+R’s owner, has seen a 25 percent upturn.

"For a few years there, I didn’t know if it was going to dry up and go away," Getz said. "But hip-hop and dance records kept us in business and now rock, particularly punk rock records, is coming back in a big way."

Vinyl never died

To some, vinyl should never have disappeared in the first place.

Steve Leach, collectables merchandise specialist for Half Price Books, the used-books chain, said that there has always been an interest in vinyl and that the chain features it prominently in its display at the flagship store in Dallas. Vinyl sales have increased every year since 2004, jumping 6.5 percent in 2005, 10.7 percent in 2006 and 3.3 percent in 2007.

To John Kunz, that’s a sign that the vinyl customer never really went away. Kunz, owner of Austin’s Waterloo Records, said music stores have been badgering the recording industry for years to release vinyl.

"I think more and more of the labels started hearing the message," Kunz said. "The mantra was always 'We need more vinyl. We need more vinyl.’ "

Kunz said he has noticed that many of the bands, who perform shows at the Austin store, have become vinyl junkies themselves.

"They take stacks of vinyl and then play it on turntables with USB ports so they listen to it on the road," Kunz said.

Good news

David Katznelson, a former Warner Bros. vice president who signed bands such as the Flaming Lips and now runs the San Francisco-based Birdman Recording Group, said vinyl is another portal for finding music.

"I think the music-buying among young people comes via video games they play on the Internet or what their friends are listening to on MySpace," Katznelson said. "One of the ways they’re also finding new music is through their parents’ vinyl. Most fans of hip bands are fans of old music, which means they’re fans of vinyl."

Whatever the reason, it’s good news for places like Record Town and Forever Young.

"It’s certainly a niche, but it’s a niche that’s deserving of praise and worthiness," said Bill Schurck, sound recordings archivist at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. "It’s the vinyl that keeps a number of stores open, and these stores are also offering a lot of personalized services that you cannot get on the Internet."



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Top sellers

Vinyl sales are a mixture of old and new. This list shows the Top 5 sellers as of Aug. 31 at independent music stores.

1. Led Zeppelin: Mothership

2. Matthew Sweet: Sunshine Lies

3. Fleet Foxes: Fleet Foxes

4. Beck: Modern Guilt

5. Radiohead: In Rainbows

Source: Coalition of Independent Music Stores, an organization that handles 59 stores in 21 states