Business

Vinyl’s Newest Fans a Lifeline to Record Stores

In an era when digital downloading has put traditional record stores out of business, several Greenwich Village storeowners said they have survived partly because a younger generation of vinyl fans have been their strongest customer base since the mid-2000s.

“They realize vinyl sounds better,” said Bob Abramson, owner of the House of Oldies on Carmine Street, offering his opinion. “It’s a wonderful thing to see young people buying vinyl.”

Anya Plotkin is one of those avid, young collectors. “I collect because I’m scared of what the future holds for record stores,” said the Beacon High School student, as she browsed at Village Music World, near the intersection of Bleecker Street and Sixth Avenue. “Since all my friends are downloading music online, I’m pretty sure vinyl will get more rare and more expensive so I buy a lot now in case that happens.”

“Buying a record,” Chester Mills, who would only describe himself as a college student, “is special … It’s unlike an MP3 because you can hold it in your hands. It’s ridiculous in its massive, size and it’s just great.”

That kind of enthusiasm is helping drive vinyl sales. They hit $171 million in 2012, the highest annual sales figure since 1997, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Its membership is made up of 1,300 record companies scattered across 66 countries.

While that surge stirs the hope of record storeowners such as Abramson, not everyone is convinced that records stores will stay afloat indefinitely.

“I see younger generations buying [vinyl, but] CDs don’t sell like before … Vinyl has come back but I refuse to say it will save the industry,” said Jamal Alansr, manager of Village Music World.

As much as 70 percent of his store’s sales are made online, he added, while the remaining 30 percent are made at the store itself.

Alansr’s lack of optimism about the future of walk-in record stores is based on what he has witnessed in this decade alone. Colony Records, a once iconic store in Times Square, ended its 64-year run in September 2012. Six months later, Bleecker Bob’s shut its Greenwich Village doors. Low profits and high rents fueled those closings.

Josh Madell, owner of Other Music on Fourth Street and Broadway, said he and his employees are trying to avoid a similar fate.

“Colony and Bleecker Bob’s weren’t entirely in touch with what people were buying,” Madell said. “We stay on top of what’s changing.”