That’s not a feature of the digital world. Sure, Amazon, Pandora
and Spotify will give recommendations, but it’s not the same as
actually being in a store and talking with fellow music lovers.
And clicking through an online playlist isn’t the same as picking
up and holding an album.
“I love looking at album covers, and looking inside, reading
who was in the band,” says Rodney Petersen, 56, a Gravity
Records shopper. “It’s fun to go back and say, ‘I didn’t know
he played on this album.’”
Petersen typifies many record buyers. He grew up listening to
LPs, then switched to newer, more convenient digital formats.
He held on to some of his old records but never played them.
Now he’s frequently out, looking to add to his collection.
“Five or six years ago I started getting back into it,” he says.
“It’s the thrill of the hunt. I used to go to thrift stores, Goodwill,
Salvation Army. You could get albums and pay $3 or $4. Now
that it’s getting more popular, you have to go to record stores like
this. It brings you back. No cell phones, just music. You just listen
to the music.”
Buyers like Hager and Petersen are looking for music they grew
up with — albums they used to own, or singers and bands they liked
back in the day. But the record revival is not just old folks on a nostalgia
kick. Yellow Dog Discs is just north of the University of North Carolina
Wilmington, and students frequent the store.
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WBM february 2020