Record-enthusiast and visual artist Kerry Beary opened Baton Rouge’s only locally owned record store in May 2011, and she’s been convincing people that music sounds better on vinyl ever since.
As the vinyl resurgence takes off — more than 4.6 million vinyl records were sold in America in 2012, according to statistics from Nielsen Soundscan on the website Digital Music News — Beary’s business, Atomic Pop Shop, offers both old school and newly released albums. The shop is just a half-block away from Baton Rouge Magnet High School.
While detractors may dismiss vinyl records as being obsolete, the music format has recently experienced a resurgence, with record players appearing in various chain retailers across the country. Meanwhile, according to Nielsen, CD sales continue to plummet while vinyls are selling more and more every year.
Specifically, vinyl record sales rose by 17.7 percent in 2012, according to Digital Music News. That translates to about 2 million more records sold last year than in 2009, just three years earlier.
Beary said the trend is part of what led her to go from selling records on a smaller scale to finally opening her own location.
One of the more surprising things Beary said she’s found is the range of ages that come into the shop looking to add to their collections.
“We have collectors as young as 9 and as old as 92 come into the Atomic Pop Shop every day,” Beary said.
So while some of the store’s visitors have grown up with vinyl records, many are buying and listening to them for the first time.
As for the allure of the vinyl record, it’s no mystery to Beary.
“People are getting really tired of music that sounds canned and flat,” she said. “Listening to a digital recording of ‘Revolver’ by The Beatles and then listening to a vintage vinyl pressing will make a believer out of anyone.”
For the first time since 1991, when Nielsen began recording album sales, old albums outsold new releases in the month of July. Whether it’s due to an increase in re-pressings of older records showing up in many chain retailers or due to a renewed excitement toward old music, the trend means good things for any local record store with an extensive vintage selection.
And Atomic Pop has just that. Berry boasts that the store offers everything from “rock to Bach.”
“We talk to our customers about what they like and what their friends are listening to,” she said. “We prefer to carry the best and most requested music that we can get.”
For those looking to dive into the world of record collecting, April 20 might be a good day to start. Thousands of local record stores across the country will celebrate the sixth annual Record Store Day. On this day, record stores and recording artists join to celebrate music by releasing limited and exclusive records in local stores.
Beary said she looks forward to celebrating it this year with live music, giveaways, limited releases and a “monster” sale on Atomic Pop’s vintage collection.
“Listening to a digital recording of Revolver by the Beatles and then listening to a vintage vinyl pressing will make a believer out of anyone”
Tiny records hang Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013 in the Atomic Pop Shop on Government St.
