The idea of opening a record store in the age of digital downloads and file-sharing, iTunes and Pandora, seems like the perfect set-up for failure.
Don’t tell that to Steve Zimmerman.
Zimmerman has a has a one-word answer for why he opened a new record store – Jupiter Records - in North Wilmington over the weekend: vinyl.
Music sales overall have slipped significantly since the dawn of digital downloads. According to Billboard magazine, the last five weeks mark the longest consecutive stretch in the Nielsen SoundScan era that the industry has gone without scanning more than 5 million units. And, over the last two weeks, album sales hit consecutive record lows.
According to Nielsen Soundscan, so far this year, CD sales are down 14.1% to 88.8 million from the 103.3 million scanned during the same period last year.
[caption id="attachment_47999" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Jupiter Records owner Steve Zimmerman (top center)
greets new customers at his store's grand opening Saturday."]
However, as sales of CDs plummet and even digital sales begin to slow down, sales of vinyl LPs continue to rise.
Vinyl sales have risen 33.5% to date in 2013, with 2.9 million LPs sold, and experts believe sales could hit 5.8 million by the end of the year. Compare that to 2008 when just 1.9 million vinyl LPs were sold the entire year.
Vinyl records still only account for 2% of the overall market. But thanks to events like the annual Record Store Day, which saw 2013’s sales increase 20% over last year, and renewed interest from labels and stores, the vinyl movement appears to be catching fire, which is good news for Zimmerman and his potential customers.
“A lot of the mainstream type of music, the way people get that, these days they’re stealing it. They’re getting on the internet, going to blogs. They’re just stealing it," said Zimmerman. "The people who like some of the sort of ‘left’ music, they want to hold that record, they want to smell it. They just want it. They want to have collections.”
And Zimmerman believes he can provide what those music lovers want. He previously co-owned and operated a record shop in Phoenix until last year. After deciding he wanted to open a new store in the First State, he hauled 20,000 pounds of vinyl across the country and settled into the first floor of a three-story stucco-faced building on the corner of Marsh and Grubb roads, close to the communities of Arden and Bellefonte, and a little more than a mile from the Pennsylvania state line. Zimmerman says it seemed like the right spot to open a record store.
[caption id="attachment_47996" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Jupiter Records' bins include rare and hard to find vinyl LP's."]
“This area didn’t seem like it had one. I scouted out locations where I [might want] to do it, and this ended up being the spot. Everything about this entire space is incredible; this porch, this 150 year-old building. Being from Arizona, all of that,” Zimmerman said, pointing to a line of fir trees, “You don’t see that. Seeing trees and rain, these aren’t things I see all the time.”
The store features a large amount of vinyl LPs, leaning heavily on jazz and rock titles from thousands of artists, the majority of which came from Zimmerman’s own personal collection. Pink and orange walls are decorated with rare and hard-to-find LPs, while handmade racks and bins are stuffed with titles from well-known rock artists like Pink Floyd and Television, to under the radar offerings of Roky Erikson and jazz artist Tom Scott.
Zimmerman says he believes catering to vinyl buyers with wide-ranging taste is the key to building a clientele that will make the store a success.
“I want everybody,” he insists. “I want someone to come in and feel comfortable buying Kansas and the Doobie Brothers, then somebody coming in stoked they found a Sun Ra or Leroy Jenkins record, right next to each other in line. I want everyone to find stuff.”
Jupiter Records opened it doors Saturday and will operate Monday through Saturday from 11am to 7pm. Zimmerman will also buy vinyl LPs in addition to selling them.