For the record

Photo / Paul Estcourt

Talk to those in the record shop business and though they hate to admit it, theirs is a dying industry.

Not that they'd give up their beloved record stores for anything. And the handful of independent record shops around Auckland that are still hanging tough - boutique outlets like Conch and Beat Merchants, and larger retailers such as Real Groovy and Marbecks - are celebrating Record Store Day on Saturday.

"It's about celebrating alternate record shops worldwide that are still around - and the community and culture that builds up around them," says Cian O'Donnell, co-owner of Conch on Ponsonby Rd.

It's on this idea of community that American record store owner Chris Brown founded Record Store Day back in 2007. He, like O'Donnell, believes a record shop is a place that brings people together through music.

"Record shops, on the whole, are more than just shops, they are hangouts, and they always have been. Hundreds of bands have been formed after meeting up at record shops," he says.

Mind you, diehards like O'Donnell and Beat Merchants' owner Jason Howson know their shops are an endangered species.

With the move to downloading and online music buying they have felt the pinch in the last decade; many shops closed down and Real Groovy nearly went under in 2008.

"Sadly, there are not many record stores like Beat Merchants in New Zealand anymore," laments Howson, who bought the business three years ago. "You can kinda count them on your hand."

He says Record Store Day is about reminding people of the important role record shops play, everything from exposing people to new music to creating a network of music lovers.

"The industry would not be the same if it wasn't for the small record store out there [supplying] that harder-to-find music and following genres from their early stages as shops like Beat Merchants and Conch do. You end up with a pedigree I suppose, and people come in and ask about it and there is a person full of knowledge behind the counter.

"I was born and raised in that era of finding these sorts of stores and that's where you got your information and I think people like Cian and I are carrying the torch."

Saturday will see Conch and Beat Merchants, as well as Rhythm Compact Disc in Ponsonby, and Marbecks and Real Groovy celebrating the day with everything from live in-store entertainment to bumper vinyl sales.

"It's a day to celebrate who we are and what we do," says Steve Keller from Rhythm Compact Disc, which is having a vinyl sale on Saturday. "The fact we're still here, introducing new and old music to people is always worth celebrating and toasting."

Keller says vinyl sales are increasing which has a lot to do with more new releases becoming available on the old-school format.

"People are after a tactile and aural experience beyond compare and with vinyl they need look no further," he says.

Real Groovy has also seen a dramatic increase in vinyl sales recently.

"We're seeing a lot of teenagers buying LPs - not only new releases, but also lots of classic rock, blues, metal, punk and reggae," says part-owner Ralph Brayham.

"Our vinyl sales are up 50 per cent - 100 per cent in the case of new vinyl - and of course records sound great."

Still, Saturday might be a celebration but the everyday reality of record shops is far less rosy.

Even with the resurgence of vinyl, it's still a battle to make money.



As with many businesses, diversification and being clever is the key to staying afloat.

Conch has a few points of difference: it imports music that is not readily available to download, and while it serves coffee already, it now has resource consent to turn itself into a cafe and serve food.

Meanwhile, Beat Merchants' second most popular product after music is spraypaint for grafitti artists.

"It's about looking for that hot new product," says Howson, "be it a set of headphones or that graffiti market which is a direct link to the music I sell - drum'n'bass, hip-hop, dubstep, reggae - and it's just another arm of the culture."

Lowdown

What: Record Store Day
Where: At independent record shops everywhere
In Auckland: Real Groovy has a host of guest DJs spinning tunes during the day, including musicians Liam Finn and Phil Somervell (Datsuns), and Flying Nun founder Roger Shepherd; At Conch, saxophonist Lewis McCallum and friends play.
Live: Kidz In Space, the Jury & the Saints, Computers Want Me Dead, the Drab Doo Riffs, Artisan Guns, Clap Clap Riot, and the Gaze, Kings Arms, Auckland, all playing short sets including a cover of one of their all-time favourite songs.