Our grandparents were groovy in the music era of vinyl and eight tracks, our parents rocked on in the music era of tapes and CDs, and now vinyls have made a comeback for Generation Z. It’s something about owning a piece of music that makes LP (Long Play) buyers want more. According to the new music industry report, vinyl sales in the United States are up 21.7 percent for the first half of 2023.
Record Store Day, which happens every year in late April, has had one of the most significant impacts on the music industry. The event boosted sales for independent record stores and introduced new enthusiasts to more physical music formats including vinyl. Record Store Day has also helped bring back the growth of vinyl, especially for Homer’s. It has continually been one of the biggest sales for the year for the shop. Record Store Day “broke all records”, they had better sales than before with longer lines. It is a prime event that promotes record stores annually. Homer’s was one of the founders of this vinyl celebration.
Homer’s Record Store is one of Nebraska’s best selections of new, used, CDs, DVDs, and LP’s. Homer’s has a large local section as well and continues to promote local releases. Many local musicians have also worked at Homer’s. They’ve been selling music for over 50 years and have been the oldest record store in operation in the state. The store is located in the Old Market district of Omaha, Nebraska. At one point, there were 13 extended Homer’s stores in Omaha, Lincoln, and more but now there is one remaining in its original location at the historic Old Market. This is beneficial for the store because they can put all their energy and focus into one location. They can have unique abilities, unlike the big box stores. MarQ Manner is now the store manager. Manner gave some insight into his personal experience as a manager and as a record owner as a whole.
The record-owning community has changed through the years. Since vinyl has become such a well-liked physical form of music throughout the years, the faction of people tends to be more middle-aged to younger people. “Traditionally it was a lot of older white males for many years, and thankfully in recent years, it has grown to include more younger persons and a lot more female collectors,” manager Manner shares.
Purchasing a record is a longer-lasting relationship. You can replay the record as many times as you want, it stays with you as long or as short as you, and you can pass it on to others. A concert is usually a one-night experience but you can experience a record for several spins. Manner shared his relationship with owning a piece of music, “To me personally it means that it is a work of music that I strongly value. Since I probably buy 300 to 500 pieces of music for myself, a lot of that is on CD because of space and price. I buy about 100 pieces of vinyl each year and those are the works that mean the most to me.”
The personal experience stemming from vinyl can simply start from a family member passing down their used vinyl to you or another friend sharing their experience as a collector. Record collecting stems from some type of musical affection. Manner shares how he started enjoying vinyl.“I have been obsessed with music all my life, so collecting vinyl was natural. I was a DJ at Skateland in 1991 and 1992 and so I had to buy a lot of 12″ vinyl to get remixes and such and that is when I got deeply into collecting records.”
There are many different types of records from new to used, from black to colorful, and from one LP to 4 LP’s. The variety gives countless decisions to make when making a purchase. Manner shares what types of records are best to buy. “New records will have the most current remastering and be clean of course. There are older used records though that were done with masters that may not exist anymore, and sound better than the new versions. That is part of what makes collecting records so much fun.”
Not only is vinyl growing in popularity, but different types of genres are as well. The leading music genre across the globe is pop according to Prime Sound. According to the Guinness World Records, the most popular musician on the planet is The Weekend. Manner informs on what type of music has been most sold in Homer’s Records.“In recent years it has been classic pop and rock like Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, Prince and Queen. Also pop music such as Taylor Swift, Oliva Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Harry Styles and more. We also sell a lot of hip-hop Kendrick, Mac Miller, Juice World, and Tyler the Creator. We also sell a lot of hard rock such as Metallica, Ghost and Iron Maiden. “
Record collecting has been occurring for years, yet the hobby has regained the popularity it once had. The first half of the year alone, vinyl sales skyrocketed over 20 percent in the United States. Record Store Day is a main contributing factor into the reason why sales have been continually rising, especially for Homer’s. Homer’s is currently thriving because of the relationship of its patrons and employees to music. “To me personally it (vinyl) means that it is a work of music that I strongly value.”
