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The Need to Be Heard: Independent Record Stores’ Vital Place in Society

Although today most music discussions and purchasing occur online, there is still an important role played by independent record stores. Music purchasing has become an activity based mainly on the MP3 format, a convenient format thanks largely to its ease of portability. But for some, the idea of clicking a button to hear a song is void of intimacy and lacks any interaction with the music. For those feeling this way, the value of vinyl is infinite. Over the past decade vinyl has made a significant resurgence, due mainly to the sales occurring at local record stores.

            Fortunately for both vinyl enthusiasts and vinyl sales, the Corner Record Shop exists. Located on West Main Road in Kalamazoo, the Corner Record Shop is an independent retailer focusing mainly on vinyl releases from both past and present artists. The interior of the space is vibrant. The walls are painted orange and music from the store’s record player blasts throughout the air. While not the largest record store in the country, the Corner Record Shop’s selection is diverse, spanning dozens of generations of music: it feels like the record collection of an eclectic group of music-savvy individuals.

            The walls of the store are speckled with albums by artists including the White Stripes, Can, Neil Young and Gram Parsons. Just looking at the records hung on the walls reminds one of how wonderful it is to see album art in its fullest size- a grateful departure from the dwarflike dimensions of MP3 artwork. To hold the album is to feel its gloss and to see the slanted reflection of the store’s lights off the plastic casing, an image one simply does not get when looking at album art on a computer screen.

Portability is a main reason for digital music’s proliferation. One’s ability to carry hundreds of artists on a single electronic device is of appeal, but such convenience comes at a cost. Many artists release their albums on low quality mp3’s; the overall sound is dull and flat. It is a distinction those in the business selling vinyl would like to make known and Corner Record’s owner, Joe Senn, is no different. “I would like to see people place more importance on actual sound quality as opposed to portability,” says Senn.

                Although lesser in sound, the mp3 format, both purchased and illegally downloaded, has become the go-to format for many listeners: in the past decade, spawned mainly by the downloading site Napster, music sales in the United States have dropped 47 percent. A staggeringly low amount of people are frequenting record stores like Corner Record Shop, instead choosing to illegally pirate their music in large quantities.

            Only 37 percent of music acquired by United States consumers was paid for in 2009. One can only guess how small a percentage of this was bought at local record stores.

            It is clear that the American music industry is in a state of flux. But where does this leave the hundreds of independent retailers still trying to nurture honest music consumption?

“You can’t compete with free,” says Sennn, addressing the issue of pirating.

But in terms of actual sales, Corner Record Shop competes with larger retailers such as Amazon and iTunes.  The competition between local record store and mammoth retailer is nothing new, but has become recently complicated by vinyl’s growth in the market. “Vinyl is the only format that has seen an increase in sales in the past few years,” says Senn. However, this does not dismiss the fact that both mp3 and digital music sales dwarf the amount of vinyl sold in the United States, something with which Senn deals daily. “People don’t realize that when it comes to vinyl, we often beat Amazon in price,” he says.

However rich the vinyl’s sound may be, it is still impossible to ignore the integral place mp3’s have in music today; Senn and his business are well aware of its demand. A recent trend in the past five years has found labels including a downloadable code for the mp3 album within the vinyl, allowing the consumer to enjoy the benefits of both mediums. “For vinyl to stay competitive it really needs to keep including the mp3 codes,” says Senn. “A lot of times people will pick up an album, see that it doesn’t come with a download and put it back.” This reinforces the fact that digital is unavoidable; however, this is not something entirely negative and instead can have a positive impact on vinyl’s sales if handled properly.

“I will always try to buy vinyl. But it’s a way easier choice when the album comes with an mp3 download,” says fervent record buyer and Western Michigan student, Dave O’Hagan.

O’Hagan is part of the small, devoted niche of people buying records today. Like many of his peers, O’Hagan is drawn to the intimacy of vinyl but is not willing to sacrifice the practicality of mp3’s.

“I like vinyl a lot. But it’s not like you can take an LP with you in your pocket. That’s where digital comes in handy,” says record collector and recent KVCC graduate, Ben Hardler.

            There can exist a marriage between digital and vinyl. Customers like Hardler and O’Hagan are happy to purchase their vinyl, as long as they can get their mp3 as well. Senn and his Corner Record Shop are well aware of this and they stick to three simple things to ensure success.

 “For us to stay competitive in the future we will have to work at keeping our prices low, stocking albums with mp3 downloads and encouraging customers to enjoy the benefits of better sound that vinyl offers,” says Senn.