A New Spin on Vinyl: Indie music stores’ sales increase amid COVID-19 pandemic

MANKATO, Minn. (KEYC) - The COVID-19 pandemic impacted businesses across the world, but for the vinyl records industry, 2020 brought a new wave of customers itching to get their hands on new tunes to spin.

“People had cabin fever. Wanted to get some music and start getting into vinyl. On the other hand, we’ve had a lot of people cleaning house and selling their used vinyl collection, so there’s been a surge of used vinyl here as well,” said Carl Nordmeier, owner of Tune Town in Mankato.

Though most stores closed their doors early last spring, customers took to online and curbside pickups of vinyl. According to the Record Industry Association of America this created a soaring 29% surge in sales and $626 million in revenue that has brought the industry back to life.

Now, with eased COVID-19 restrictions, customers are welcomed back to indie music stores like Tune Town where they can thumb through albums and talk music.

This summer, record shops around the world are taking part in Record Store Day, a celebration of small music businesses and a chance for customers to purchase rare, collectible and one-time exclusive releases.

Nordmeier added, “It’s usually an annual event held in April, but because of COVID issues, they broke it up into two separate days in the summertime, so there was one on June 12th and there’s gonna be another one on July 17th.”

Nordmeier said it’s special to see shoppers of all ages become interested in vinyl.

“You pick up a record, you look at it, you feel it, you read the liner notes, you put the needle on the record, it’s a whole different game than just listening to something on your phone and the sound is much better!” Nordmeier stated.

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