The age of digital downloading has caused CD sales to sink, but despite the hardship, some local vinyl record and CD enthusiasts are keeping music appreciation afloat.
Revolver Records in downtown Phoenix has felt the impact of digital downloading, but isn’t ready to turn off the music just yet, said shop owner T.J. Jordan.
“It definitely affects us,” Jordan said. “Digital downloads and piracy have affected record shops as a whole.”
2010 marked the fourth consecutive year of CD sales falling nearly 20 percent, according to a Nielsen SoundScan report on music sales. In this same time, digital album downloads increased 13 percent.
Revolver Records, located on Second and Roosevelt streets, offers used and new vinyl records. The shop has become a jewel among those who still treasure traditional ways of listening to music.
“Music is so much more than just about the music,” Jordan said. “It’s also the cover of the record, the physicality of putting it on and the fact that you own something.”
Jordan said he believes there are enough people out there to keep the doors to his Valley record shop, and others, open.
“Our customers are more interested in the experience of vinyl, what vinyl has to offer, and the sound quality,” Jordan said. “We cater to the people who are more interested in the physical piece, rather than the actual listening to it.”
Dario Miranda, an employee at Stinkweeds Record Exchange in Phoenix, said the business is doing well, and that the shop is expanding.
“We’re adding more vinyl and CDs,” Miranda said. “Vinyl is definitely getting more popular.”
Psychology sophomore Clipper Arnold, a customer at Zia Record Exchange in Tempe, agrees that vinyl records are a more enriching listening experience than one obtained by clicks and file sharing.
“Vinyls are a better way of listening to music,” Arnold said. “It’s hard to express, but there’s more you’re getting out of it.”
Another customer at Zia Record Exchange, Gina Unterreiner, whose listening experiences go back to Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top on portable 8-track tapes, doesn’t like the digital downloading trend, especially when it’s done illegally.
“They should definitely have to buy the album,” Unterreiner said.
Plenty of people still invest in physical pieces, Jordan said. He’s seen a rise in younger people visiting Revolver to purchase classic rock records.
“Vinyl has gotten more popular over the past few years,” he said. “But it’s nowhere near making up for all the money that has been lost because of digital downloads.”
Global music piracy causes $12.5 billion in economic losses every year, along with a $422 million loss in tax revenues, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
“It’s going to be harder and harder for record stores to survive in a world where people can get stuff for free,” Jordan said.
The people who choose to download music illegally aren’t interested in the actual product, he said.
“When people get something for free, they don’t value it as they would if they actually cared enough to buy it,” Jordan said.
Some students are warned about digital downloading when they log in to their MyASU page. The message “Aaarrhh Ye a Pirate?” appears on the screen to inform students about the consequences of illegal downloading.
Many universities have collaborated with the Recording Industry Association of America, or RIAA, to monitor illegal downloading taking place on their networks.
Students can obtain more information about ASU’s policy on copyright infringement on the University’s website at help.asu.edu/copyright.
But even while facing increasing digital downloads, Jordan still sees a market for stores selling vinyl records.
“The Internet has killed not only music … it hurts everything,” he said. “There are still people out there who value music the way it sounds.”
Reach the reporter at ktenagli@asu.edu
