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This one is for the record ...
By ANDREA JOHNSON
Ephrata Review
Published: May 07, 2008 10:24 AM EST
EPHRATA - "Look at this," said Nathaniel Kinsey, Record Connection employee and
"resident metal dude" as he pulled a Twisted Sister album off the rack.
"That left an impression. I was scared of that. No one's ever been scared
of a download."
Customers in the 550 N. Reading Road, Ephrata store
nodded in agreement to Kinsey's profound argument of records versus
downloading as they ate pizza and donuts and perused thousands of records
during the first national Record Store Day Saturday.
With red and
black snakeskin print pants, matching scarf, Motley Crue shirt and
perfectly teased hair thanks to Aquanet (number 3, scented strong hold)
Kinsey is just one example of what an independent record store has to
offer, versus downloading services and chain stores.
He pulled a
Kiss record, explaining how downloading also misses the whole point of
what music was, and is still supposed to be.
"It's more than just
music; it's what the album cover looks like. They say you can't judge a
book by its cover but you can always judge an album by it's cover," Kinsey
said. "It used to be the music, the cover, the video and the stage show.
The whole point is lost. Everyone is too cool to have fun. Everyone has to
hide behind irony."
It seems his point isn't just a matter of
opinion. Rolling Stone magazine addressed the slumping album sales and
ever-increasing number of independent and chain stores that have gone out
of business in the past eight years.
According to its July 2007
article series, in 2000, U.S. consumers bought 785.1 million albums. In
2006, they bought 588.2 million and that even includes both albums and
downloaded albums. Digital sales have grown 65 percent from 2005 to 2006,
selling 582 million digital singles in 2006.
Record Connection
owner, Andy Kamm said about 3,000 record stores have closed across the
country since 2000. Four hundred independent record stores have signed up
to partake in the Record Store Day to remind people of their
existence.
"This event is to bring attention to stores. We are
struggling to stay viable, we want to emphasize the role local stores play
in the community and what we provide for music fans and collectors," Kamm
said. "The idea is to make people aware of our presence."
Kamm
began his career by selling records from 1980-1984 at flea markets and
record shows, just prior to opening Record Connection in
1985.
Because of the store's niche market and having the largest
selection of records in the area, sales have been steady. Kamm said that
if he had to solely rely on the sale of CDs, however, the store would have
been closed by now.
"There's been a resurgence of records due to
nostalgia or novelty reasons. Many people realize records have superior
sound quality to that of MP3s," Kamm said.
First-time customer Ben
Ireland, who moved to Ephrata four months ago, was looking for records to
add to his modest collection of 100. Ireland said he prefers collecting
records versus downloading.
"I like having the art," he said. "I
like having it in my hand."
A 20-year customer, Ed Akacki has been
collecting records since he was about eight years old and starting
shopping at Record Connection in 1987 when his family moved to the
area.
"My father was a big record collector. He used to buy at
Kmart, so it's always been records for me," Akacki said. "It's sentimental
and the records are better. This is the best place to get
everything–it's in alphabetical order–and if it's not here,
Andy will order it for you... it's better than e-bay."
And that's
the kind of rapport Kamm likes to have with all of his
customers.
"Over the years, we created a music oasis here and have
gotten to know a lot of our regular customers. It's becoming a meeting
place for people to discuss music and other topics too," Kamm said.
"People may not realize what they are missing if they just download music.
They might hear new music here that they might not have heard elsewhere."
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