“I'm stoked and always just a bit surprised how much love people still have for an archaic format,” he says. Even cheesy film soundtracks like Saturday Night Fever or Grease are selling well. “They can Instagram it.”Ĭrowds enjoy Record Store Day at Slow Boat.īut Taylor's been surprised by the popularity of previously “uncool” acts like Billy Joel, the Alan Parsons Project and - yes - Dire Straits. Why would kids want to listen to Dire Straits - a band that broke up in 1988 and hasn't released a new album in 30 years? “A lot of it is trophy buying,” McAllum says. “They're buying Taylor Swift and Harry Styles and Lana Del Rey, but they're buying them at the same time as Dire Straits and Bruce Springsteen.” “I know shitloads of people getting into records, 15, 16, 20-year-olds,” he says. “The dad's saying, ‘Oh yeah, I used to have a turntable. the kids are getting into vinyl,” Hart says. “We get people coming in with their kids. That's not sales data from 20 years ago - that was yesterday.Įven more of a surprise is who's buying those classics. It's a list of records by Bell Biv DeVoe, The Doors, Fats Domino, Human League and Crosby, Stills & Nash.

To make his point, he picks up a pile of paper and begins pointing to names on it. “On Monday I sold three between 6-9pm on the website.” “On Friday I sold a $5000 one,” Hart says. New vinyl is difficult to get, with nine-month waits reported at pressing plants around the world. “Now more so than ever.” Right now, Real Groovy can't get enough copies of Dark Side of the Moon. “Your Pink Floyds, your Led Zeppelins, Jimi Hendrix, that stuff is always sellable,” he says. From his position above the store, checking sales data and ordering depleted stock, McAllum has watched all this happen first-hand. Worldwide sales are up 30 per cent, according to a recent Recording Industry Association of America report. Vinyl's popularity has been on the rise for a number of years, but last year, that trend intensified. More and more people are getting into it.” “We don't have anywhere near what we'd like to have,” admits Grant McAllum, the store's music buyer. Some customers are coming in twice a day to sift through bins and dig for treasure. Right now, Real Groovy's team can't satisfy demand.

Dire straits album sales