While CD sales slump, Melburnians can’t get enough of those black plastic discs. Everybody has a vice. Some people spend hours playing video games. Others watch four games of football every weekend, or blow their pay on shoes or books. Judging by the queues stretching down Bourke Street Mall, a fair few Melburnians already have Spanish fashion giant Zara as theirs.
My vice is vinyl. I can’t get enough of those beautiful discs of black plastic. Earlier this year I visited the United States and had to smuggle my newly acquired records home in my carry-on luggage to avoid excess baggage charges.
Many will remain in their shrink wrapping, unopened and in mint condition until the end of time. Others, bought second-hand, come lovingly scuffed. I love flipping the sleeves over, wondering where they lived before they ended up in my possession.
I’m not alone in my expensive habit. Former White Stripes singer Jack White is such a fan of black plastic that he issued all promotional copies of the band’s 2003 album Elephant on vinyl, reasoning that any music critic who didn’t own a turntable wasn’t worthy of reviewing it.
It’s no surprise that the music industry is in a slump, as illegal downloads and iTunes have driven a stake through the heart of CD sales. But defying the general trend, vinyl sales are booming. In the US, almost three million records were sold last year, the highest figure since 1991, despite overall album sales falling 13 per cent from the previous year.
The list of top 10 selling vinyl albums last year makes for intriguing reading: classic artists such as the Beatles, Michael Jackson and Pink Floyd sit alongside contemporary acts like Arcade Fire, Vampire Weekend and the Black Keys.
It’s a similar story closer to home. According to the Australian Recording Industry Association, CD sales in 2010 were down by more than 20 per cent from the previous year. But some reports suggest vinyl sales increased by more than 150 per cent in the same period.
Chris Gill, owner of Fitzroy’s Northside Records, says the amazing renaissance of vinyl is reflective of Melbourne’s overall culture.
‘‘The rest of the world isn’t that healthy at the moment, but Melbourne is buzzing all across the board. It’s not just our record stores but our live music [scene], our DJs and our bookshops,’’ he says.
Melbourne is home to more than 50 record stores – an impressive figure considering the population – which specialise in everything from indie rock and punk to jazz, funk and pre-loved rarities.
Last year Gill decided our vinyl community was worth celebrating. He helped devise Diggin’ Melbourne, a free pocket-sized map plotting the record stores across the city and suburbs.
‘‘One of the best things about the map is that it’s not branded from a particular store,’’ he says. ‘‘It’s important to support the overall culture rather than just support yourself ... and of course, by supporting the culture, you’re also helping yourself.’’
Gill opened the Gertrude Street store in 2002 as a way of celebrating the funk and soul music he had always loved. Initially, his core customer base was DJs seeking new tracks to play in clubs. Many DJs have since turned to MP3s, but Gill’s business is still busy.
‘‘The records I’m selling now are more to home listeners and ‘full album’ people, not people buying albums for one track,’’ he says.
Title, which sells music, DVDs and books, started out with one shopfront in Sydney and now has stores in Fitzroy, Brunswick and Northcote, as well as interstate.
Matt Bailey, who manages the Brunswick store, says part of the reason vinyl is experiencing a resurgence is that music purists prefer the audio quality of a vinyl recording to a CD or digital download. ‘‘Spinning vinyl just sounds better,’’ he says. ‘‘[Sales are] rising because analogue to analogue is what we are best at hearing. People want to hear the music as the artist intended.’’
Polyester Records co-owner Nathan Nott says Melburnians are a record-savvy community. ‘‘But if you look at our art galleries and book stores, it’s pretty easy to say Melburnians are savvy all around.’’
Nott has worked at Polyester for eight years and last year bought the business – which has stores in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, and Flinders Lane, CBD, and an online store – with business partner Simon Karis. The business sells Australian and imported CDs, vinyl, DVDs and books. The racks of vinyl are clearly a drawcard. Nott estimates sales are split 55 per cent CD, 45 per cent vinyl.
A vinyl collector himself, Nott says the process of buying and listening to records is very romantic. ‘‘Records are brilliant in that they are a presence in a room. It’s just beautiful to buy a record, come home, place that black disc on a nice turntable and sit in a chair and absorb an album.’’
Independent record stores such as Northside and Polyester are among thousands that participate in Record Store Day, a worldwide celebration of non-chain music stores each April.
The concept has grown since its inception in 2008 and this year, limited vinyl releases by the likes of Radiohead and Nirvana prompted record devotees to queue outside stores.
Gill laughs that devoting a day to stores such as his is ‘‘one of the more ridiculous things to dedicate a day to — but we’ll take it.’’
Record labels are responding to the resurgence in interest by releasing more albums on vinyl.
Acclaimed musician Guy Blackman is behind Melbourne label Chapter Music, which started releasing vinyl in 1996 and has put out LPs by acts including Crayon Fields.
The walls of Blackman’s Clifton Hill office are lined with shelves of records; he loves the artform as much as the bands whose albums he releases.
‘‘Every single band in the world wants to release their album on vinyl,’’ he says. ‘‘Records are big, they’re beautiful and you can hold them in your hands. And of course, for a lot of acts, the idea of creating involves a physical product a lot of the time.’’
Blackman was the first employee of now-defunct Highett record-pressing plant Corduroy Records. He now presses his label’s releases at GZ Digital Media in the Czech Republic.
While he can manufacture CDs for less than $2 each, records cost up to $8 each to press. Limited-release pressings of fewer than 500 copies can cost up to $10 apiece. ‘‘It’s definitely for love, rather than money.’’
Blackman sells his releases through the Chapter Music website for between $25 and $30, compared with $20 for the average CD.
Last year, Melbourne three-piece Bum Creek decided to forgo a CD release of its anticipated debut album AL and instead issued it on vinyl through Chapter.
The release came with a download card allowing the buyer to listen to the tracks on their computer or MP3 player. It’s a concept that is becoming increasingly common among US labels such as Sub Pop and Matador.
‘‘What it does is cover both bases; music fans still get the physical record but access to the MP3s as well,’’ says Blackman.
It bypasses the need for a CD, a format Blackman says is ‘‘dying at a greater rate than vinyl is growing’’.
‘‘The only people who want to buy physical products these days are people that enjoy beautiful objects, and a CD just doesn’t have the same aesthetic appeal as a record.’’
For more information on Melbourne’s record stores, visit digginmelbourne.wordpress.com
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Five of the best...
Other record stores you may have missed
HEARTLAND
61 Peel Street, West Melbourne
Metal fans are well served by Heartland, which features racks of hard-to-find vinyl and many titles usually unavailable in Australia. The store’s 7’’ bargain bin — regularly filled with hundreds of imported singles at $5 each — is the stuff of legend.
WOOLY BULLY
104 Errol Street, North Melbourne
The newest addition to Melbourne’s record store landscape opened last week. The store deals in garage and punk LPs, 7’’ and cassettes — but not CDs. A selection of comics, graphic novels and books, and a coffee machine serving Supreme beans, rounds out the space.
MISSING LINK
Basement, 405 Bourke Street, city
Since last year, Melbourne institution Missing Link has shared floor space with second-hand store Collectors Corner. Expect to find everything from the latest releases by Australian hardcore bands to rare titles from the 1960s.
OFF THE HIP
Basement, 383 Flinders Lane, city
Both a record store and a label, Off the Hip is one of the city’s best sources of all things garage rock, power pop and psychedelia. Australian artists are well represented and the store also sells imported 7’’ and LPs.
WAX MUSEUM RECORDS
Shop 2, Campbell Arcade,
Degraves Street, city
Hidden under Flinders Street Station is Wax Museum Records, which specialises in new and used hip hop, funk and soul records. The store also sells accessories such as turntable slipmats and replacement styluses.
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