On Record Store Day, Vinyl Reigns Supreme

Once thought to be dead, a victim of the digital age, the record industry has been making a comeback–spurred, in part, by a little thing called Record Store Day. A celebration of independent music retailers, the vinyl album is once again getting its due this Saturday, April 16.

"Record Store Day very specifically promotes getting out of your house and getting to any physical location that sells music, to have the experience of buying new records, spending time with people who also love music, maybe seeing a band or a DJ," said Windy Weber, owner of Stormy Records. "It promotes the community idea that record stores are generally all about.”

The Building of a Revolution

What began in 2008 as a small movement–albeit one kicked off by Metallica–with only 300 independent record stores and 10 special releases, Record Store Day has grown into an international phenomenon. For Dearborn music fans, Stormy Records and will be taking part in this year's celebration, along with thousands more nationwide.

The list of exclusive releases has grown into the hundreds. Some albums will be making their way onto vinyl for the first time, while others will be premiering in advance of a wider release–like a recently discovered, and previously unknown, recording of Bob Dylan's 1963 Brandeis University concert.

AC/DC and Bruce Springsteen will release concert DVDs, while the Foo Fighters will be debuting a collection of cover songs. Rare and unreleased tracks from Jimi Hendrix and sneak previews from forthcoming Flogging Molly and Gorillaz albums will only be available on Record Store Day.

These releases are extremely limited, with many having only 500 to 1,000 copies available to retailers across the U.S.

"There’s over 200 titles that we’re bringing in–45s, 10-inches, LPs, CDs, DVDs, mostly vinyl," Kevin Leannais, co-owner of Dearborn Music, said. "Ninety-five percent of the stuff that’s coming out on record store day is vinyl. 

"Some of it is very limited, national limited, so it’s hard to get stuff and it’s never been out before, some of it," he added. "Some of it’s just being released on that day to independent record stores, not to the major chain stores.”

On Dearborn Music's wish-list are albums from Springsteen, Nirvana, Ozzy Osbourne, Pearl Jam, The White Stripes and Mastadon, among others.

Unfortunately, as both Leannais and Weber said, there are no guarantees they will be able to get what they ordered, due to such limited releases for the titles.

"It’s very hard for the people that really want the item," Weber said, "and it’s hard for us as a store to know that we’d like to be providing people with a piece of music they really want but we couldn't even get it in."

Stormy Record shoppers can keep an eye open for exclusives from The Black Angels, Superchunk and Deerhunter. Customers can even expect a live performance from Dan Kroha of The Gories and The Demolition Doll Rods.

Weber is also saving collectible and hard-to-find albums for release on Saturday.

"We save, four to six weeks before Record Store Day, all of the really interesting rare things that come into the store," she shared. "People know that when they come in, we’ll have really cool collectible records on the wall, and we’ll have some really interesting, rare CDs."

Record Sales on the Rise

Sales for vinyl records have been steadily increasing over the last four years, according to Nielsen Entertainment. Record sales hit 1.8 million in 2008–double the number sold in 2007.  In 2009, vinyl albums reached a recent high of 2.5 million sold. 

Brothers and Dearborn Music co-owners Rick and Kevin Leannais said vinyl isn't necessarily better, just different.

"It has a different sound," Rick said. "I believe vinyl has a different feel to it, a little bit more intimate feel to it. 

He said vinyl records account for 7 to 15 percent of their daily sales.  On Record Store Day, it will likely increase to at least 70 percent.   

Dearborn Music has been a staple for music buyers for more than 50 years and relies heavily on CD sales, stocking more than 40,000 discs across a multitude of genres, along with posters, shirts and novelties.

Stormy Records, on the other hand, opened in 1999 and is a very specialized store, focusing almost exclusively on vinyl albums from Krautrock artists, reissued Italian film soundtracks, ambient, jazz and gospel and, of course, Japanese acid freakout. 

Located above Green Brain Comics in east Dearborn, a narrow staircase lined with posters of indie artists takes customers up to a dimly lit 1,200-square-foot shop, densely packed with albums.

"We sell music that we like ourselves, and music that we think people should be hearing, which mainly ends up being small, independent label releases that you might hear on college radio," Weber said, adding that their store is about 65 to 70 percent vinyl and 30 percent CDs.

“Sometimes it feels like a very selfish venture to promote music that we personally like," she admitted. "But it’s worked for a long time and people have come to respect our opinions about things, and we know our customers well enough to know what it is they’re going to like.”

Record Stores: We're Still Here

Record Store Day is as much a celebration of music as it is local retailers. It is an event for independently owned and operated music shops and their customers, not chain stores and online retailers.

"It helps remind people that record stores are still here, and to remind you to stop at a record store and buy CDs or LPs, not just go to a big-box store or online," Kevin Leannais said. "Because eventually, if you keep doing all that, there’s not going to be any more record stores for you to shop at and browse through."

For Weber, a love of music has defined her life. An artist herself—she and her husband, Carl Hultgren, have multiple albums to their credit with a new release expected later this year—she has sold records since she was 16.

"Last year the store was busy all day long," she said of Record Store Day. "People who knew each other but hadn’t seen each other in a very long time kept running into each other here at the store and having really good conversations about bands they’ve seen and music they’ve listened to. 

"It’s a great reminder of what’s supposed to be happening at the record store.”