New vinyl sales topped 4.1 million in 2017, 10 consecutive years of growth since its near extinction in 2007. In contrast sales of CDs have dropped and downloads have plummeted. Dave Young reports.

Sales of “pre-owned” vinyl are also flourishing. Some fans prefer the analogue sound to that of digital files, while others buy LPs as souvenirs and works of art. 48% of buyers don’t play the vinyl they buy and 7% don’t even own a turntable.

I recently visited two very different sellers to check out the local vinyl scene.

Atlas Sound Records
Found in George Street, Adam Breecker serves a wide range of vinyl aficionados. “People in their 20s, students, middle aged men (and it is usually men) rebuilding collections. Among younger buyers there has long been a demand from music DJs who have a symbiotic link with the people who attend their gigs. The rise in home music production built on samples led many people to initially search out original vinyl at car boot sales and junk shops before drum and bass labels opened shops and pressed their own records”.

Like the specialist niche collectors – showtunes, autographed albums, etc – all customers want a “decent pressing, decent condition, decent sound,” says Adam. “Currently 45s are in trend, because they’re easier to carry and locate tracks on. it’s a point of pride for hip hop DJs to cut up faster rotating 45s – plus the best track from an LP is often on a single.”

Adam also sells 78s, “a definite market for jazz, soul, blues and calypso.” Summer is the shop’s busiest time with a lot of walk-in trade.

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For the future Adam thinks analogue stock will get harder to find, “all the rare stuff is already in collections but new collectible limited pressings, 100s not 1000s, will come along with signed stuff and vanity records. ”The shop is a cornucopia of rare jazz, soul, reggae, hip-hop, world music, punk, rock and folk. “For me it has always been about the music – and it happens to be on vinyl – otherwise you’re just collecting stuff”.

• Atlas Sound Records, 55 George Street, Hastings Old Town, 
Tuesday – Sunday 11am-6pm
www.facebook.com/atlassoundoffices
www.instagram.com/atlassoundrecords/?hl=en

Lock up Rock
Located in the tricky to find St Andrews shopping mews, off Queens Road, Steve Pry has been here for 16 years, part of a community of local shopper keepers. Old vinyl is his stock in trade and Steve also sells in Europe and (a little) online.

He began by buying 45s for an old 1957 jukebox, inherited from his dad, the publican at the Warrior Gate in St Leonards. “I bought collections then sold the surplus, just focused on the music I liked at the time, principally pop and punk. As I got older I appreciated 60s & 70s classic bands, such as Zep and Floyd.”

As now do many of his customers. Typically in their 50s, nostalgic baby boomers buying the music of – and just before – their youth, overall a very different demographic to Atlas Sound. “Much more on the mainstream rock side,” agrees Steve who travels to large record fares in Genoa and Milan where he can get better prices than locally. “Not a lot of disposable income in Hastings,” Steve explains, “Russians are big buyers abroad . Until the wall fell they could only get bad rock bootlegs, now they want the real thing.”

Many of his home customers have very niche interests, “printed albums, coloured vinyl, 7” record covers, I’m not sure some even get played,” he says; “78s are a nightmare, I just cleared 40,000 from a garage, but increasingly fewer people are interested.” This recent stock lies in piles at the sides of his small shop, surrounding a central display of albums that would be very familiar to Johnnie Walker. “HMV reissues can cause problems,” admits Steve, “but there’s still a market for original pressings, although condition is paramount.”

People certainly come a long way to visit – including one customer from Chile – Steve clearly knows his market.

• Lock up Rock St Andrew Shopping Mews off Queens Road, TN341SJ

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https://www.hastingsindependentpress.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/record.jpghttps://www.hastingsindependentpress.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/record-150x150.jpgHIPBusinessAtlas Sound Records,CDs,Lock up Rock,VinylNew vinyl sales topped 4.1 million in 2017, 10 consecutive years of growth since its near extinction in 2007. In contrast sales of CDs have dropped and downloads have plummeted. Dave Young reports. Sales of “pre-owned” vinyl are also flourishing. Some fans prefer the analogue sound to that of digital...The Hastings & St Leonards non-profit community newspaper